Ku Nan settles RM57m tax suit

 

Former federal territories minister Tengku Adnan Mansor has settled a RM57.17 million tax suit against him by the Inland Revenue Board (IRB).

Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Azimah Omar recorded the consent judgment during proceedings in chambers today.

Tengku Adnan's (above) lawyer S Saravana Kumar confirmed that the parties settled the matter today.

"Parties have amicably resolved the matter. The terms are not disclosed to the media. It is a settlement.

"Consent judgment was recorded before the judge," Saravana informed the media after the chamber matter today.

IRB was represented by deputy revenue solicitor Hazlina Hussain, senior revenue counsel Norhisham Ahmad, and senior revenue counsel Al-Hummidallah Idrus.

Previously, it was reported that IRB and Tengku Adnan were in the midst of trying to settle the tax suit.

On Aug 1 last year, online business news portal The Edge reported the government had filed the tax suit against Tengku Adnan.

Initially, today was set for the court to get updates on the settlement talks between Tengku Adnan and IRB. Today was also fixed for hearing of the IRB’s application for summary judgment in the tax suit against Tengku Adnan.

However, with the settlement of the tax suit, the summary judgment application did not come up for hearing today.

On July 24 last year, the government through IRB filed the writ of summons at the Kuala Lumpur High Court, naming former Umno secretary-general Tengku Adnan as the defendant.

According to the statement of claim, Tengku Adnan was alleged to owe the government income tax for the year of assessment 2012 until the year of assessment 2017, via a notice of assessment dated March 15, 2019.

IRB also claimed that since Tengku Adnan failed to pay the income tax amount from 2012 to 2017 within 30 days from the date of filing of the notice of assessment, a 10 percent tax increase was meted out.

The plaintiff alleged that Tengku Adnan still did not pay the entire income tax amount along with the 10 percent increase within the 60 days, thus leading to a further 5 percent tax increase.

The legal action claimed that the income tax payment owed by Tengku Adnan, inclusive of the increase, amounted to RM57,167,069.35.

The break down is RM64,444.38 (2012); RM6,614,861.59 (2013); RM8,887,576.69 (2014); RM9,198,523.67 (2015); RM5,520,818.05 (2016); and RM26,880,844.97 (2017).

IRB is seeking from Tengku Adnan a total sum of RM57,167,069.35; interest on the sum of RM57,167,069.35 at a rate of 5 percent a year from the date of judgment to the date of realisation; costs and any other relief deemed fit by the court. - Mkini