TPB bans NDIS fraudster for 5 years

Kahtan AI Hassan, a tax agent based in Bankstown, has been deregistered and banned from reapplying for the maximum five-year period for fraudulent conduct across the tax system and the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) system.

The Tax Practitioners Board revealed that the deregistration and banning of AI Hassan were part of its involvement in the Fraud Fusion Taskforce (FFT) and its intensified efforts to remove tax practitioners engaged in misconduct.

AI Hassan was the sole director of Tabark Pty Ltd, which had also been deregistered for five years.

Peter de Cure, TB chair, said the TPB is committed to working across government to promote the integrity of the tax profession, strengthen tax practitioner services and protect government funding allocated to Australians.

“Mr AI Hassan’s serious misconduct undermined the integrity of both the tax system and the NDIS framework. He was a person engaged by a NDIS registered provider and has defrauded the system,” he said.

“This is not a person the TPB, the Australian Taxation Office or the Australian public can trust to perform his role as a registered tax agent with integrity. We will continue to work with our National Disability Insurance Agency colleagues to stop those exploiting the system, ensuring NDIS funding goes directly to participants who need disability-related support and services.”

TPB’s investigation found AI Hassan breached the Code of Professional Conduct and “was no longer a fit and proper person to be registered based on several dishonest actions”.

His breaches and dishonest actions included:

· Correctly preparing and lodging BAS statements for Tabark, reporting false GST figures in circumstances where the company was not carrying on a business.

· Notifying the TPB that he was permanently banned by the NDIS quality and safeguards commission from being involved in the provision of NDIS support and services, including in a consultancy capacity.

· Lodging several income tax returns and paying debts on time for himself and related entities.

· Notifying the TPB that Tabark had entered into external administration.

De Cure noted that the TPB also found that AI Hassan failed to complete the TPB’s minimum level of required relevant continuing professional education and failed to maintain appropriate professional indemnity insurance.

“Tax practitioners associated with fraudulent schemes will be exposed. The TPB collaborates with many government agencies to analyse information and intelligence to uncover this sort of fraudulent behaviour,” he said.

“We will remove unethical actors from the tax profession as quickly as possible in order to level the playing field for all tax practitioners, protect the public and build confidence and trust in the tax profession and system.”