Court allows Daim's widow to challenge IRB over alleged RM313mil in arrears
SHAH ALAM: The High Court today granted leave to Toh Puan Na'imah Khalid to proceed with her judicial review application to quash the Inland Revenue Board's claims that she allegedly had not settled assessments worth over RM313 million.
Na'imah's lawyer S. Saravana Kumar said judge Dr Shahnaz Sulaiman granted the leave after ruling that his client's application had merits.
"The judge said the attorney-general's objection that the application is vexatious and frivolous is not sustainable.
"On that basis, the court has granted the leave application. So, now we will go to a substantive hearing.
"We have two weeks to serve notice to the IRB that leave has been granted," he said after proceedings.
Na'imah, 68, the widow of former finance minister Tun Daim Zainuddin, was not present in court today.
During proceedings, Saravana appeared with co-lawyer Dharshini Sharma while the Attorney-General's Chambers was represented by federal counsel Sheryn Yong.
In February, Saravana had told the court that the IRB's notice of additional taxation issued against Na'imah in August last year was flawed and unlawful.
He had said Na'imah was being double taxed on her income despite Section 45(2)(a) of the Income Tax Act 1967 allowing a wife to be jointly taxed with her husband.
He said imposing the same tax on Na'imah constituted double taxation, which led to their judicial review application.
Na'imah filed a judicial review application naming the IRB director-general as respondent.
She described the agency's decision to raise the Notice of Additional Assessment for 2018 as tainted with illegality, impropriety, irrationality, abuse of process and erroneous.
Previously, Na'imah failed in her bid to obtain an interim stay against the payment after Shahnaz ruled that there was no exceptional circumstances in the case.
However, the Court of Appeal granted Na'imah a postponement on the payment pending her appeal at the Court of Appeal.
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