Friday 29 Mar 2024
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KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 28): The Inland Revenue Board (IRB) has applied for a summary judgement to be entered against senior lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah over purported unpaid taxes of RM9.414 million.

High Court deputy registrar Syeela Marlina Uttaman, during case management of the tax case on Tuesday, fixed Oct 13 for another case management.

In the summary judgement application filed on Monday, the IRB claimed that Shafee did not have a defence against the tax claim and therefore a full trial was not needed.

Shamsul Effendi Khamis, the assistant director of IRB's Control Unit, claimed in an affidavit that Shafee had not stipulated any cause of action.

The IRB filed the main suit against the senior lawyer last May, saying it had sent additional assessment notices to Shafee's Bukit Tunku address between May 27 and May 30, 2019 for the amounts of RM621,191.85 (2011), RM978,854.11 (2012), RM3.58 million (2013), RM1.74 million (2014) and RM1.83 million (2016), but they remained unpaid.

In his defence statement and counterclaim, Shafee vehemently denied IRB's claim relating to the notice of additional assessment (NOAA) for the years 2011 to 2016, and said it was inaccurate, unlawful and tainted with mala fide.

The senior lawyer added that he had submitted a revised capital statement as final consideration for tax settlement.

"The defendant's explanation and comparison are made between the capital statement raised by the IRB dated May 30, 2019, with (my) capital statement dated May 23, 2019," Shafee said in his defence.

He further claimed that the IRB's NOAA for 2011 and 2012 was time-barred, and that a sum of RM9.5 million he allegedly received from former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in 2013 had been paid.

"The loan/advance initially received from Najib was unreasonably recognised by the IRB as income in the Year of Assessment 2013. However, the income of RM9.5 million should be only recognised in the Year of Assessment 2018," Shafee said in his defence.

Shafee further asserted in his defence that the suit and the assessment raised were part and parcel of a continued attack against him as political victimisation, for accepting the brief to defend Najib.

"This was initiated by his (Najib's) political opponents in the former Pakatan Harapan (PH) administration. The defendant was further victimised as he was and is perceived to be the UMNO lawyer although he was and is not a member of UMNO," the defence statement read.

Shafee claimed that on Aug 10, 2018, two days after the 1Malaysia Development Bhd charges were levelled on Najib, and after he issued a series of press statements critical of the PH government, the senior lawyer was called in by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to give a statement on the receipt of the RM9.5 million.

Following the statement to the MACC, Shafee alleged that a meeting was held in September 2018 among the IRB, the MACC and the Attorney General's Chambers to discuss a plan of action to oppress and persecute him with the aim of discouraging him from acting as Najib's counsel.

That led to him being subsequently charged for money laundering and income tax offences, soon after which he is presently on trial, Shafee claimed.

Edited ByS Kanagaraju
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