This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on January 21, 2020

KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s son Datuk Mohd Nazifuddin Najib has applied for a stay of the Inland Revenue Board’s (IRB) application to obtain a summary judgement against him for allegedly not paying taxes to the amount of RM37.6 million.

Following this, High Court judge Justice Datuk Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim fixed March 2 to deliver his decision on the stay application and directed lawyers representing Mohd Nazifuddin and the board to file their written submissions.

After the decision has been made, Justice Ahmad Zaidi would then set another date to deliver his decision on the IRB’s application for a summary judgement.

A summary judgement under Order 14 of Rules of Court 2012 is intended to enable the suing party to expedite the recovery of a debt allegedly owed, without having proceedings go through a full trial. The development yesterday was related by Mohd Nazifuddin’s lawyers Muhammad Farhan Shafee and Wee Yeong Kang and Nor Asmah Adam, who appeared on behalf of the IRB.

It was previously reported last October that the IRB wanted to obtain a summary judgement on the claim sought against Najib’s son.

The Malaysian government filed the writ of summons and statement of claim against Mohd Nazifuddin last July 24 where it claimed he had unpaid taxes from 2011 and 2017 as stated through the assessment notice dated March 15, 2019.

It claimed in the statement of claim that Mohd Nazifuddin’s failure to pay taxes for seven years which should be done within 30 days from the date of assessment notice as stipulated under Section 103 of the Income Tax Act 1967, caused an additional payment to be imposed.

The government claimed his failure to settle the amount within 60 days in accordance with the act, and another compounded 5 % increase was imposed bringing the total of RM 37,664,810.73 owed.