IRB seeks summary judgment in RM9.41m tax suit against Shafee

 

The taxman is seeking summary judgment in the RM9.41 million tax suit against lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah.

The Inland Revenue Board (IRB) filed the summary judgment application at the Kuala Lumpur High Court yesterday.

Under civil law, a summary judgment allows the court to rule in favour of the IRB in the tax suit against Shafee, without needing full trial.

Through the summary judgment bid, IRB contended that the lawyer does not have a defence against the tax suit, thus the matter does not need a full trial.

In an affidavit in support of the summary judgment bid, IRB control unit’s assistant director Shamsul Effendi Khamis claimed that the notices of additional assessments for the period 2011 to 2016 were properly served on Shafee.

He also contended that Shafee did not state any cause of action for the lawyer’s counterclaim against the tax authority.

Continued attack

Through his statement of defence and counterclaim filed on Aug 11, Shafee denied the tax collector’s allegation on the notice of assessments against him for the period 2011 to 2016.

The lawyer claimed that the assessments were not only inaccurate but also unlawful and mala fide (in bad faith).

Shafee claimed that the tax suit and assessments formed a continued attack against him for representing former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak.

The lawyer is Najib’s lead defence counsel in Najib's 1MDB-linked criminal cases.

“This suit and the assessments raised that form part of the plaintiff’s writ and statement of claim, is part and parcel of a continued attack against the defendant (Shafee) as political victimisation, inter alia, for accepting the brief to defend Najib, initiated by his political opponents in the former Pakatan Harapan administration.

“The defendant (Shafee) was further victimised as he was and is perceived to be the Umno lawyer although he was and is not a member of Umno,” Shafee claimed.

Unreasonably recognised

Shafee alleged that on Aug 10, 2018, he was called in by the MACC to give a statement on the RM9.5 million he received from Najib, which was two days after Najib was slapped with multiple 1MDB-linked charges and after the lawyer issued press statements.

The lawyer claimed that a month later in September 2018, a meeting transpired between the MACC, the IRB and the Attorney-General’s Chambers to purportedly discuss ways to oppress and persecute him in order to dissuade him from representing Najib.

Shafee contended that this led to his being charged with money laundering and income tax offence on Sept 13, 2018, of which the trial is still ongoing.

The four charges were in relation to the RM9.5 million that the lawyer received from Najib in 2013.

Shafee also contended that the RM9.5 million he received from Najib has been paid.

"The loan/advance initially received from Najib was unreasonably recognised by the IRB as income in the year of assessment 2013.

"However, the income of RM9.5 million should be only recognised in the year of assessment 2018," Shafee claimed.

According to the online cause list at ecourtservices.kehakiman.gov.my, the legal action is fixed for case management on Oct 13. - Mkini