PUTRAJAYA (Oct 5): The Government through the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) has withdrawn its appeal in the Court of Appeal over a RM10.3 million suit filed against former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s daughter Nooryana Najwa Najib over purported non-return of income tax assessments.

The hearing of the IRB’s appeal was originally fixed for Wednesday (Oct 5).

It is understood a notice of discontinuance of the appeal was filed by the IRB.

A file search showed that the notice of discontinuance was filed on Monday, and the IRB applied that no order as to costs be made following the withdrawal. The letter from the IRB stated that this was agreed by the IRB and Nooryana Najwa's solicitors Messrs Shafee & Co.

Meanwhile, another letter from the IRB to the appellate court on Tuesday stated that the parties had reached a settlement of the case, resulting in the notice of discontinuance being filed and agreed by both parties. 

"Hence, we (the IRB) request that the hearing of this appeal as scheduled today (Wednesday) be vacated," the letter signed by IRB counsel Ainur Mardhiah Ramli stated.

On Aug 26, 2020, Shah Alam High Court judge Datuk Faizah Jamaludin dismissed the IRB’s application for a summary judgement to be entered against Nooryana Najwa for purported unpaid taxes as it found the IRB's documentation to the court was not in order.

A summary judgement is where the case or decision is entered without going through a full trial. With the settlement recorded, as stipulated in Tuesday’s letter, the trial in Shah Alam has also been vacated.

The Government, via the IRB, was suing Nooryana Najwa for alleged failure to submit her individual income tax return forms to the tax agency under Section 77 of the Income Tax Act 1967 for years of assessment between 2011 and 2017.

The IRB had contended that to date, Nooryana Najwa had not paid the amount of income tax owed, including increases totalling RM10,335,292.

Lawyer Muhammad Farhan Shafee, when contacted by theedgemarkets.com, confirmed the IRB's withdrawal of the appeal.

Meanwhile, Nooryana Najwa took to her Instagram account over the matter, saying "Alhamdulillah" (all praise to God) that the IRB had withdrawn its appeal in her tax case.

“We had already settled my tax case after my tax agents and the IRB went through my case, and they finally agreed that the 'wang hantaran' (dowry), nafkah from my husband, and a house fully purchased by my in-laws using funds from abroad were not taxable.

“It never was and made no sense. Just like my father’s nonsensical RM1.7 billion tax case, the then Pakatan Harapan government's sole objective was to persecute my family using the IRB, even if it meant breaking all laws and rules, relying on abusing the 'pay first, talk later' clause,” she said, commenting to Najib’s ongoing RM1.69 billion tax case.

Najib has been slapped with a RM1.69 billion tax bill, where the appeal by him and his son Datuk Nazifuddin Najib over the summary judgement entered against them is scheduled before the Federal Court.