KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court dismissed an appeal by former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and his son Datuk Mohd Nazifuddin to stay bankruptcy proceedings against them.
The bankruptcy proceedings were initiated by the Inland Revenue Board (LHDN) following Najib and Mohd Nazifuddin’s failure to settle tax arrears amounting to RM1.69bil and RM37.6mil respectively.
Judicial Commissioner Suhendran Sockanathan @ Saheran Abdullah made the dismissal after finding that there was no reason to grant a stay.
“I don’t see any other damages that would warrant a stay,” he said here yesterday.
In his dismissal, JC Suhendran said that the merits of a tax assessment were to be determined by the Special Commissioners of Income Tax (SCIT), and not the court of law.
“The court’s role is only to facilitate collection and recovery of tax. The formula of ‘pay now, dispute later’ is again to facilitate the collection of tax,” he added.
An appeal to the SCIT, the judge said, did not prevent the collection process as it is within the framework of the Income Tax Act.
The court also ordered for Najib and Mohd Nazifuddin to each pay RM7,000 in costs.
In 2020, two separate High Courts allowed LHDN’s applications to enter a summary judgment to recover tax arrears of RM1.69bil from Najib and RM37.6mil from Mohd Nazifuddin for the period between 2011 and 2017.
On Oct 16, 2023, the Federal Court ruled that the father and son must pay the arrears after dismissing their appeal to set aside the High Court’s decision.
