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A three-member bench chaired by Justice Lee Swee Seng ruled that there were special circumstances to warrant the granting of a stay order in favour of Shell Gas Holdings (Malaysia) Limited as the matter involved the payment of a large sum in tax assessed.
Lee, who sat with Justices Ruzima Ghazali and Azizul Azmi Adnan, said the company also had a good tax payment record.
This means the company need not pay the tax assessed at RM883,693,017 pending the outcome of its appeal for leave to commence judicial review proceedings.
In May, Shell Gas filed a leave application in the High Court, naming the finance minister as respondent.
The application was made in relation to a 2017 tax assessment raised over gains arising from the disposal of 15% shares owned by Shell Gas in Malaysia LNG Tiga Sdn Bhd, which were made subject to payment of income tax.
Shell Gas contends that the gains are capital receipts and are not taxable. The company says this is especially so given that it had owned the shares for about 22 years as an investment.
However, on July 3, the Shah Alam High Court refused leave, giving rise to an appeal by the company to the Court of Appeal.
Shell Gas was represented by lawyers S Saravana Kumar and Felicia Wong, while federal counsel V Krishna Priya appeared for the minister.
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