Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak. -filepic
KUALA LUMPUR: Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak (pic) and former Treasury secretary-general Tan Sri Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah will be asked to testify before Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) next week.
Its head Datuk Seri Dr Ronald Kiandee confirmed that the duo was slated to appear before the committee with regard to the "missing" RM19.4bil Goods and Services Tax (GST) credit returns.
According to a PAC media statement on Oct 16, Irwan will testify on Oct 23, while Najib will do so on Oct 24.
Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng will also appear before the committee on Oct 30 for his input on the issue.
In August, the Dewan Rakyat was told that the previous government had not been able to refund companies their tax credit from the implementation of the GST because 93% of the money was not placed in the correct account.
Lim alleged that some RM18bil of the RM19.4bil input tax credit under the GST was "robbed" by the previous administration.
He said that as of May 31, the outstanding GST refund stood at RM19.39bil, whereas there was only a balance of RM1.486bil in the repayment fund.
Lim said from the total input tax credit, RM9.2bil or 47% was recorded between Jan 1 and May 31 this year, RM6.8bil or 35% in 2017, RM2.8bil (15%) in 2016, and RM600mil (3%) in 2015 (from April 1 to Dec 31, 2015).
Under the GST, the input tax credit allowed businesses to reclaim credit for taxes paid on purchases, subject to filing of input tax documents.
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