KUALA LUMPUR (July 20): The Inland Revenue Board (IRB) will know on Wednesday (July 22) whether its application for a summary judgment in its RM1.69 billion tax suit against former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is successful. 

Justice Datuk Ahmad Bache will deliver the decision at the High Court on that date, lawyers involved in the case told theedgemarkets. 

A summary judgment is a judgment by the court without a full trial where witnesses can be called to testify and cross-examined. It is sought by plaintiffs in cases where they feel that whatever defence raised by the defendant would merely have the effect of delaying judgment. 

Najib’s lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah and deputy revenue solicitor Abu Tariq Jamaluddin had provided their submissions to the judge last month, stating their arguments for and against a summary judgment. 

Abu Tariq, in his submission, said Najib’s defence can still argue the merits of the tax-reassessment with the Special Commissioner of Income Tax (SCIT). It was previously reported that Najib had filed a tax-reassessment appeal with the SCIT. 

Abu Tariq also argued that the summary judgment application was in accordance with Section 106(3) of the Income Tax Act 1967, which states that in any proceedings under the section, the court will not entertain any plea that the amount of tax sought to be recovered is excessive, incorrectly assessed, under appeal or incorrectly increased, among others. 

Shafee however argued that this case was not as clear cut as warranting a summary judgment.  

He said there are many issues to be disputed, which can only be done so in a full court hearing. 

Shafee also maintained that the unpaid tax the IRB is seeking were from donations given to Najib, which he claimed were not taxable. 

“We have the RM2.6 billion Arab donation that went into Najib’s account but after he used the money for elections, around US$620 million was returned to the Arabs.  

“This has come out in Najib’s other court cases and there is money trail proof — in black and white — of these transactions. So how can the IRB tax the amount that was returned to the Arab royalty?” Shafee asked. 

He told the court that this was just one issue that needs to be addressed in a full hearing.

Shafee also questioned the IRB’s hurry in seeking a summary judgment against Najib, and alleged that this was an act of oppression against his client. 

The government filed the suit against Najib on June 25 last year, seeking over RM1.69 billion in unpaid taxes, with an annual 5% interest rate beginning from the date of judgment. 

The government claimed the former premier had failed to pay his income tax from 2011 to 2017 within the stipulated 30-day period, after assessment notices were issued by the IRB.