Najib’s sons appeal summary judgment ruling on RM50.8 million outstanding tax

 

Former PM Najib Razak and his sons, Nazifuddin and Nizar, have each been served with multi-million dollar tax bills.

PETALING JAYA: Najib Razak’s two sons, who were slapped a total RM50.8 million tax bill by the Inland Revenue Board (LHDN), have filed separate appeals against the High Court orders for summary judgments to be entered against them.

LHDN won their bids to proceed to recover RM37.6 million tax arrears from Mohd Nazifuddin as well as RM13.2 million tax arrears from Mohd Nizar from the Kuala Lumpur and Shah Alam High Courts, respectively.

Nazifuddin works as a businessman while Nizar is a company director.

LHDN sought to recover tax arrears from the brothers for the period 2011 to 2018.

The siblings’ lawyer Muhammad Farhan Shafee said that the Court of Appeal fixed Dec 16 as mention for their appeals along with Najib’s.

The former prime minister had also lodged an appeal against the High Court’s decision that allowed LHDN to recover RM1.69 million tax arrears from him through a summary judgment.

Farhan added the court registrar fixed the three cases to be heard together as “the issues are the same”.

In Nazifuddin’s case, the Kuala Lumpur High Court allowed the summary judgment bid in favour of LHDN as the businessman failed to raise a just cause against the application.

Summary judgment is a proceeding where the court decides on a case, through written submissions, without a full trial and calling witnesses.

For Najib’s RM1.69 million case, the court held that under the Income Tax Act, it has no power to entertain any pleas from individuals, who wanted to dispute LHDN’s assessment against them.

The court in its ruling said once LHDN had served the notice of assessment to Najib, the court has no power to entertain the plea on the sum the government is seeking to recover on grounds that it is excessive or was wrongly accessed.

The proper forum to contest the assessment is before the Special Commissioners of Income Tax.

Najib and Nazifuddin have taken their LHDN assessments before the tax tribunal. - FMT