RALEIGH -- A Charlotte businessman pleaded guilty Wednesday in Wake County District Court to tax charges filed by the North Carolina Department of Revenue.

Kanwerjit Singh Ahluwalia, 52, of 5518 Sunstar Court, Charlotte pleaded guilty to two counts of willfully failing to truthfully account for and pay state and Mecklenburg County sales taxes. He also entered a guilty plea to one felony count of tax evasion on behalf of Communication Consultants Inc. Ahluwalia is the responsible corporate officer of Communications Consultants Inc., a Charlotte business that installs hotel telephone systems.

Wake County District Court Judge Jane Gray sentenced Ahluwalia to 45 days in jail. The sentence was suspended and he was placed on unsupervised probation for 24 months. Ahluwalia was ordered to pay a $2,000 fine and to submit a business plan outlining his future procedures for collecting, accounting, and remitting sales tax to the Department of Revenue within 45 days. Communication Consultants Inc. was ordered to pay $12,578.66 in restitution and a $3,000 criminal fine.

The charges against Ahluwalia resulted from an investigation by a field auditor in the Department of Revenue's Charlotte Audit Office and a special agent with the Department's Criminal Investigations Division.

Last modified on: 10/31/07 03:43:44 PM.