KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 10 — The federal government should use its powers under the Real Property Gains Tax (RPGT) Act 1976 to recoup nearly RM600,000 in unpaid taxes from six companies, according to a national audit.

The third series of the Auditor-General’s (A-G) 2013 Report found that the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) has yet to launch civil action against the companies, despite racking up tax arrears totalling RM590,263.

This was on top of over RM180,000 in RPGT arrears that have yet to be settled by 19 individuals.

The national audit also noted procedural weaknesses in managing the tax, having recorded delays in processing RPGT forms over periods of anywhere between three months and nearly three years.

Also highlighted was the failure to impose the 10 per cent increase in the RPGT rate on property owners who sold off their assets, amounting to RM17,122 in lost revenue.

Despite the weaknesses, the audit found that the IRB had managed RPGT collection satisfactorily, progressively increasing revenue to RM787.29 million in 2013 compared to RM607.99 million in 2012 and RM537.60 million in 2011.

The A-G’s office, however, recommended that the IRB lay out clearer guidelines on classification of property disposal and set up a more systematic distribution of files to help identify the frequency of transactions made by property owners in every tax year.

The report also urged the tax department to increase enforcement and legal action against defaulters, and to match staff volume with the number of RPGT forms at every branch to cut backlog and increase revenue collection.