A Blenheim agricultural contractor has been sentenced to four months home detention and 200 hours community service for failure to account for PAYE tax deductions amounting to over $541,000.
The Christchurch District Court sentenced Nanda Gopal Santhanam Ponnuchetty on February 2 after he pleaded guilty to 55 charges of aiding and abetting his company, Wine Reach Services Limited, to withhold PAYE deductions that were due to Inland Revenue Department (IRD).
IRD Investigations manager (Assurance) Lynley Sutherland said that the defendant’s business deducted PAYE from its employees but failed to remit to the Department.
“He consistently failed to make payments to IRD between May 2005 and November 2007. This is a serious offence because the money is held in trust on behalf of employees. The defendant eventually made repayments to Inland Revenue but $61,000 in penalties and interest had to be written off,” Mr Sutherland said.
He said the Department had advised Mr Ponnuchetty of the lapse and had offered to help.
The presiding judge said that the defendant had failed to ensure that he had adequate cash and did not have the basics right when running a business.”
Ponnuchetty had been due to appear in court in June 2009 but left the country. A warrant for his arrest was issued in his absence and he only returned to New Zealand last year.
