Bahrain Mirror: The Public Prosecution referred a sales manager in a shop to an urgent trial over charge of applying the Value Added Tax (VAT) to the goods of the shop and customers without registering his entity in the official VAT system and set Thursday as a day to commence his trial.

The Public Prosecution ordered to refer a shop owner's case to criminal courts for violating the Value Added Tax (VAT) law, stated Attorney General and Head of Ministries and Public Entities Prosecution, Amina Issa. The hearing of the case was set for March 14, 2019, she added.

Details of the case indicate that the Public Prosecution started investigating upon a communication received from the Consumer Protection Directorate. It reported a shop, where the accused works as a sales manager, was selling good plus VAT tax without registering the shop in the tax official system as it did not have a tax registration certificate. This, which is against Law No. 48 of 2018, resulted in an increase in the prices.

The Public Prosecution then ordered a temporary shutdown of the shop and its contents (goods, documents, invoices, computers and all the devices used in the circulation of goods and their value). Public Prosecution ordered to enable judicial control officers, specialized in consumer protection, to examine the shop and report all violations. 

Arabic Version