Cap. 372 Art. 52Penal provisions relating to fraud, etc.

(1) Any person who wilfully with intent to evade or to assist any other person to evade tax under the Income Tax Acts -

(a) fails to furnish a return or any other document or statement which he is required to furnish by the Income

Tax Acts or omits from a return or any other document or statement made, prepared or submitted for the purposes of or under the Income Tax Acts, any income which should be included therein; or

(b) makes any false statement or entry in any return or other document or statement prepared or submitted for the purposes of or under the Income Tax Acts; or

(c) gives any false answer, whether verbally or in writing, to any question or request for information asked or made in accordance with the provisions of the Income Tax Acts; or

(d) prepares or maintains or authorises the preparation or maintenance of any false books of account or other records or falsifies or authorises the falsification of any books of account or records; or

(e) makes use of any fraud, art or contrivance whatever or authorises the use of any such fraud, art or contrivance; or

(f) has in his possession or under his control any article for use in the course of or in connection with altering, destroying, erasing or concealing any information, records or evidence which he knows or is reasonably expected to know to be relevant for any purpose of this Act; or

(g) makes, adapts, supplies or offers to supply any article knowing that it is designed or adapted for use in the course of or in connection with altering, destroying, erasing or concealing any information, records or evidence which he knows or is reasonably expected to know to be relevant for any purpose of this Act, or intending it to be used to commit, or assist in the commission of fraud; or

(h) alters, destroys, conceals, covers up, falsifies, or makes a false entry in any record, document, electronic data or tangible object, shall be guilty of an offence, and shall be liable on conviction before a Court of Magistrates sitting as a court of criminal judicature -

(i) to a fine (multa) not less than seven hundred euro (€700) and not exceeding three thousand five hundred euro (€3,500) in the case of any offence committed under paragraphs (a) to (d); and

(ii) to a fine (multa) of not less than six thousand euro (€6,000) and not exceeding ten thousand euro (€10,000) for an offence committed under paragraphs (e) to (h), and, in addition, for each offence as above referred to in paragraphs

(a) to (h), to treble the amount of tax to which the person whose tax liability it was intended to evade, or to assist in evading, is liable under the Income Tax Acts for the year of assessment in respect of or during which the offence was committed, or to imprisonment for any term not exceeding six months, or to both such fine and imprisonment. For the purposes of paragraphs (f) and (g) the term "article" includes any program or data held in electronic form.

(2) The Commissioner may compound any offence under this article, and may before judgment stay or compound any proceedings thereunder.