KUALA LUMPUR – The Inland Revenue Board (IRB) has filed an application to strike out a counterclaim by lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah in relation to a suit filed by the agency seeking RM9.41 million in tax arrears.
The application was filed by IRB on behalf of the government as the plaintiff on September 28, on the grounds that the counterclaim is an abuse of the court process.
IRB said the counterclaim is aimed at disputing the assessment that was raised with a basis, and in a valid and orderly manner, based on the Income Tax Act 1967.
“Any dispute as to the tax assessment, such as whether it is incorrect, excessive or invalid, should be heard before the special commissioners of income tax,” said the agency in its application.
Shafee, who filed the counterclaim on August 11, said the suit against him is inaccurate, unlawful, and an attempt at preventing him from continuing to represent former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
On September 27, IRB applied for its suit against Shafee to be decided through a summary judgment, on the grounds that the defendant failed to pay the tax arrears amounting to RM9,414,708.32 within the stipulated time.
A summary judgment is when the court decides a case without hearing witness testimony.
The writ of summons and statement of claim were filed on May 6 at the high court, with Shafee, 69, named as the defendant.
The government said additional assessments amounting to RM621,291.85, RM978,854.11, RM3,581,500, RM1,735,124.03 and RM1,826,557,87 were made for the assessment years 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2016, respectively, through a notice dated May 27, 2019 that was sent to the defendant.
It said the sum has yet to be settled.
Shafee is representing Najib in the latter’s SRC International Sdn Bhd and 1Malaysia Development Bhd cases.
The lawyer himself is facing two charges of receiving from Najib RM9.5 million in proceeds from unlawful activities, and two charges of making a false declaration to IRB.
November 5 has been fixed for case management of Shafee’s tax suit before high court deputy registrar Syeela Marlina Uttaman. – Bernama, October 13, 2021
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