Najib applies to examine LHDN officers over bankruptcy notice

Najib Razak has applied to examine five Inland Revenue Board (LHDN) officers over their affidavits on the bankruptcy notice against the former prime minister for failing to pay RM1.69 billion in additional tax arrears.

Najib’s lawyer Wee Yeong Kang, when contacted by Bernama, said the application was filed on Sept 22 according to Rule 47 of the Insolvency Rules 2017.

Najib, 68, applied for a court order to examine the five male officers on grounds that LHDN had failed to provide details on how the total amount of tax he was slapped with had been calculated.

Wee said during the online case management before High Court deputy registrar Ida Rahayu Sharif today, LHDN’s team had informed that they would file an application to strike out the examination application.

“The court then directed LHDN to file the application on Oct 13 and further case management has been set for Nov 9,” said Wee.

Senior revenue counsel Al-Hummidallah Idrus, who represented LHDN at the proceedings, confirmed the matter when contacted.

The government, through LHDN, filed a bankruptcy notice in the High Court on Feb 4 against Najib as a debtor.

Based on the notice, Najib has to pay RM1.69 billion with a 5% interest rate per annum on the total balance from July 22, 2020 (the date of High Court’s decision) to Feb 4, 2021. The total payable amount as of the latter date was RM1,738,804,204.16.

On July 22 last year, the High Court ruled that Najib had to pay LHDN RM1.69 billion in additional tax and penalties for the period of 2011 to 2017 after allowing LHDN’s application to enter a summary judgment against the former.

A summary judgment is when the court decides a particular case summarily, without calling witnesses to testify in a trial.

On Sept 9, the Court of Appeal affirmed the High Court ruling after dismissing Najib’s appeal over the matter.

Najib then filed an application for leave to appeal to the Federal Court on Sept 13 against the Court of Appeal’s decision.