As to the offense under the Tax Appeals Law, in accordance with section 117(a)(3), it was proven before me that the defendants provided incorrect or inaccurate information in the report or document they submitted to the VAT authorities, and that this refers to the false documents that they prepared. Therefore, defendants 1 and 4 should also be convicted of committing this offense.
It should be noted, in this context, that although the living spirit in the commission of these offenses (the customs and VAT offenses) was Defendant 1, Defendant 4 should be viewed as a joint perpetrator and not as an accomplice, since the fraudulent scheme was concocted together with him, and he was a full partner in the forgery and the submission of the forged documents, even if the exact method of operation was known to him only in general terms, and he was not at the forefront of the criminal activity.
Charges 3 - 7
Introduction to Charges 3-7
- In the preamble to charges 3-7, it was claimed that defendants 1-3 conspired to defraud suppliers of goods abroad and the tax authorities in Israel, through acts of forgery and fraud. According to the alleged fraudulent scheme, the defendants are supposed to order goods from suppliers abroad, ostensibly on behalf of firms and companies from and for the Palestinian Authority. This was done with an agreement to pay the consideration for the purchase through a bank operating in the Palestinian Authority, using the documentation method for collection, with the intention of taking the goods for themselves without paying for them at all. According to the fraudulent scheme, the defendants are supposed to stamp on the bill of lading a forged stamp of the collecting bank, and present the forged bill of lading as well as a document posing as a sales account for a customs broker. The customs broker is supposed to prepare, according to these forged documents, an import and release of the goods, even though they have not been paid. The indictment alleges that the acts committed in the framework of Charges 3-7 were committed under aggravated circumstances "which are rooted in their sophistication, the scope and dimensions of the acts of forgery and fraud, as well as the fact that they are the result of a planned, systematic and prolonged effort." The preamble to these charges further argues that the amounts of import tax evasion are estimated as of the date the goods were stored, and do not include fines and arrears interest. The defendants also committed the tax offenses under aggravated circumstances.
Charge No. 3
- As part of the third indictment, the prosecution attributes to defendants 1 and 2 the following offenses:
- forgery of a document with the intention of obtaining something through it under aggravated circumstances, according to Section 418 Law The Penalties (Two offenses).
- Use of a forged document, according to Section 420 Law The Penalties (Four offenses).
III. Fraudulent receipt under aggravated circumstances, according to Section 415 Law The Penalties (Two offenses).
- An attempt to obtain something fraudulently under aggravated circumstances, according to Section 415 Together with Section 25 Law The Penalties.
- Evasion of customs duties payable, according to Section 212(A)1 Together with Section 218 To the Ordinance Customs.
- Attempt to evade payment of customs duties to be paid, according to Section 212(A)1 Together with Sections 218 and219 To the Ordinance Customs.
VII. Preparation, transfer and presentation of a sales account that is supposedly real and in fact is not, according to Section 212(A)(3) Together with Section 218 To the Ordinance Customs (Two offenses).