Tax Advisory

Mr. Elango Subramanian who was the joint liquidator of the Appellant, faced a tax dispute regarding income from the sale of two properties. While IRAS initially sought taxes on both, it later conceded on the residential property, leaving only the backpacker’s hotel in question.

We supported the Appellant and legal team by providing strategic insights on financial records and business practices. However, due to the promoter’s inability to recall details from the 1980s-90s and the lack of sufficient supporting evidence, the appeal was partially dismissed, resulting in a 50% success in the tax investigation.

In 2020, our client engaged us to object to IRAS’s assessment, which disallowed input tax claims, arguing the activity was merely logistical support for Electro Inc. and not part of their trading business. After submitting our position, supporting calculations, and engaging in discussions with IRAS, our objection was successful, and IRAS withdrew its initial disallowance of the input tax.

In 2017, we were engaged to assess IRAS’s disallowance of management fee deductions, which was based on their view that the transactions lacked commercial substance and the company was structured to secure a lower corporate tax rate.

Recognizing the merit in appealing, we provided extensive support to Mr. Gurbachan of GSM Law by preparing key documents and financial analyses to counter IRAS’s position. Following rigorous correspondence and analysis, IRAS ultimately concurred with our argument.