Former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak has asked why it took Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng so long to notice arrears for the Goods and Services Tax (GST) refunds.
"The main question is why the finance minister took three months to notice arrears as much as RM18 billion, and now says the government can't pay it because the money had been 'stolen'?
"RM18 billion is not a small sum," Najib said on Facebook.
On Wednesday, Lim claimed that RM18 billion of RM19.4 billion in GST refunds may have been misused by the previous BN government.
Customs chief T Subromaniam yesterday issued a statement saying that there were difficulties in paying out RM19.4 billion in GST refunds as of May 31.
Subromaniam said that funds from the government's consolidated accounts, which were meant for the GST refunds, had not been transferred in full to a trust fund meant to facilitate the repayment.
Citing the same statement, Najib said it proved that the GST refunds were not stolen or misappropriated, but were instead put into consolidated funds and paid out to the trust fund periodically.
He also said that because BN had been ousted from government on May 9, responsibility for refund during the period between April and May this year fell on Pakatan Harapan.
Najib repeated claims he had made yesterday that the situation may have arisen from an unexpected rise in GST refund claims.
"From what I see, the Harapan government did not foresee a sharp rise in GST claims after it was zero-rated," he said.
He reiterated his belief that since the Harapan government had enforced a consumption tax holiday, consolidated funds meant for the refund may have been used to pay for monthly government expenses instead.
Regardless, he said investigations by the police, MACC, and PAC would reveal who was in the right on the matter. -Mkini
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