June 16: Hearing of Najib, son's appeal over tax payment to IRB

PUTRAJAYA: Former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s appeal over tax payment of RM1.69 billion to the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) at the Court of Appeal will be heard on June 16 next year.

His lawyer, Muhammad Farhan Muhammad Shafee, said the court also set the same day to hear the appeal by Najib’s son, Datuk Mohamad Nizar, 42, who had to pay tax of RM13.16 million to IRB.

“Both appeals will be before the same Court of Appeal,” he said when contacted by reporters after the case management, via e-review, before deputy registrar Mohd Khairi Haron.

Meanwhile, Muhammad Farhan said the appeal by another of Najib’s son, Datuk Mohd Nazifuddin, 37, who owed RM37.6 million in tax arrears to IRB, has been set for case management on Feb 4.

Najib, 67, Mohd Nazifuddin and Mohamad Nizar have to pay the amount to IRB after the High Court in Kuala Lumpur and Shah Alam allowed the IRB’s application for a summary judgment to be entered against them.

A summary judgment is where a court decides a case through arguments without hearing the testimony of witnesses in a trial.

The order against Najib and Mohd Nazifuddin was issued by the Kuala Lumpur High Court on July 22 and July 6, respectively, while the order against Mohamad Nizar by the Shah Alam High Court on Sept 25.

On June 25 last year, the government, through the IRB, filed the suit against the Pekan MP, seeking him to pay RM1.69 billion in unpaid taxes for the period between 2011 and 2017 with interest at five per cent a year from the date of judgment, as well as costs and other relief deemed fit by the court.

On July 24, last year, the IRB filed the action against Mohd Nazifuddin claiming that he still had unpaid taxes for the assessment years from 2011 to 2017 totalling RM37,644,810.73 as stated in the assessment notice dated March 15, 2019.

The IRB filed the same action on Mohamad Nizar seeking him to pay taxes amounting to RM13,159,821.94 for the assessment years from 2011 to 2017.

-- BERNAMA