KUALA LUMPUR, March 15 — The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) urged the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) to increase the tax arrear limits that will cause defaulters to be barred from leaving the country.

PAC chairman Datuk Seri Hasan Arifin said the existing limits were too low for prevailing economic conditions, and proposed that this be raised from the current RM2,000 to RM10,000 for individuals and to RM50,000 for businesses.

"Before the travel restriction is imposed, IRB has to ensure that the tax arrears notice has been issues to the individual or company according to the law as practised by the Public Service Department.

"The delivery system in issuing reminders on tax arrears or overseas travel restriction should be upgraded using latest technology such as delivered via short message service (SMS)/WhatsApp/e-mail,” he said in a statement today.

Hasan said both the IRB and Immigration Department must keep their databases updated to ensure defaulters who have settled their tax arrears are not barred from travelling due to outdated information.

The PAC held a proceeding meeting with the IRB on March 27, 2017, to address the findings of the Auditor General’s Report 2015, which was tabled in Parliament on 21 November 2016.

One of the eight major aspects on the IRB travel ban implementation mentioned in the report included the absence of notice on legal action to taxpayers who are subjected to travel restrictions and the delay in the issuance of notice of legal action.