KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 11): Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng today lambasted former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak for trying to pin the blame on the new Pakatan Harapan government for the missing RM18 billion goods and services tax (GST) refunds. 

"The RM18 billion shortfall in the trust fund for goods and services tax (GST) refunds were not incurred within one month, but built up over three years since April 2015. Further, this RM18 billion shortfall is as at May 31, 2018. Can Najib prove his claim that the new Pakatan Harapan government was able to spend RM18 billion in only three weeks, when Najib failed to return GST refunds by 3 years, what the law required to be refunded in two weeks?" Lim asked in a statement.

Lim also pointed to his speech in Parliament last week, which detailed that the Customs Department's records had shown that RM19.4 billion GST input tax claims had not been paid as at May 31 this year. Of that, RM9.2 billion (47%) were for refunds claimed in 2018, RM6.8 billion (35%) in 2017, RM2.8 billion in 2016 (15%) and RM0.6 billion (3%) from 2015. "The status of GST refund arrears amounted to RM19.397 billion as at May 31, 2018, while the balance left in the Refund Trust Fund was around RM1.486 billion only," an excerpt of his speech showed.

He was responding to Najib denial yesterday via a Facebook post that the previous Barisan Nasional government had robbed the GST refunds, and the latter's counter suggestion that the new government might have spent the money from the consolidated account that was supposed to have been transferred to the GST claims trust account, to cover the government's monthly expenses after it zerorised the GST.

Najib also said that GST collections, similar to other tax collections and government revenue, were channelled directly to the consolidated trust fund. From there, he said the funds are transferred to the GST claims trust account every month to meet the provisions of the GST Act 2014.

Lim, meanwhile, pointed out that Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was only sworn in as the 7th prime minister of Malaysia on May 10, while Lim himself was sworn in as the finance minister on May 21. "How could Dr Mahathir as prime minister spent RM18 billion in three weeks or I as finance minister spend RM18 billion in 10 days, as implicitly claimed by Najib?", Lim asked, adding Najib's accusation "defies logic and beggars belief".

Lim said Najib must come clean on his role in the "RM18 billion GST refunds scandal". "Bear in mind that only the minister of finance can instruct that GST refunds be delayed beyond the legally stipulated two weeks period, or that GST payments be made into the Consolidated Revenue Account isntead of the Fund for GST Refunds Account under Section 54 of the GST Act 2014," he added. Najib was also the previous finance minister.

Lim also raised this question: Did Najib give authority to Tan Sri Dr Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah not to transfer the RM18 billion into the GST Refunds trust account?

"Like his former boss, the former Treasury secretary-general has also not been completely truthful with the facts when he claimed all GST payments are made into the Consolidated Revenue account, but did not explain why he refused to transfer RM18 billion into the GST Refunds trust account," Lim claimed.

He also pointed out that Customs Department director-general Datuk Seri Subromaniam Tholasy had stated yesterday that he had requested for RM82.9 billion in total to be transferred to the GST Refunds trust account at the monthly Trust Fund Committee meetings chaired by Irwan since 2015. But RM19.4 billion had still not been transferred as at May 31 this year.

"If Irwan denies that the GST refunds payments are missing, why is it that taxpayers are still unable to receive their refunds, some for as long as three years? Clearly, the refunds were not transferred and paid back to the taxpayers because the previous government had recognised such payments as revenue and used it to cover up their deficit, or pay for both operational and development expenses. This is wrong because the refunds are not government money or revenue to be used as the government deems fit, but are taxpayers’ money that must be returned to them," Lim said.

Lim said he will propose to both the prime minister and cabinet to conduct an open inquiry headed by independent professionals into the missing RM18b GST refunds, once he receives a full report of an internal inquiry -- headed by new Treasury secretary-general Datuk Seri Ismail Bakar -- on the matter. "The Ministry of Finance will also co-operate with any authorities investigating this matter," he added.