KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 11 — Former Lembaga Tabung Haji chairman Datuk Seri Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim today secured High Court permission to challenge the Inland Revenue Board’s (IRB) decision to revoke a RM4.8 million tax settlement he says he had fully paid.

The court today allowed his application for leave to commence judicial review, paving the way for a full hearing on whether IRB was legally entitled to cancel the agreement.

Azeez’s lawyer Datuk Amer Hamzah Arshad said the court was satisfied that there were legal issues that warranted further examination, local media reported this afternoon.

“After hearing submissions from both parties, the court is satisfied that there are legal issues to be heard in our leave application,” he told reporters after the hearing, according to news portal Free Malaysia Today.

The dispute centres on a settlement agreement signed on February 9, 2022, covering Azeez’s tax and penalties for the assessment years 2011 to 2020.

The agreement fixed his total liability at RM4.8 million, which was to be paid through 25 monthly instalments.

Azeez maintained that he had paid the full amount, but IRB informed him in a letter dated August 7 that it had revoked the agreement and the subsequent composite assessment after discovering new facts and income that had not previously been taken into account.

According to The Edge, Azeez is now seeking to have the revocation and the composite assessment notice dated March 22, 2022, quashed, as well as a court order compelling IRB to honour the original agreement.

His legal challenge argues that the settlement and composite assessment were final and conclusive under the Income Tax Act 1967.

The Attorney-General’s Chambers opposed his application, arguing that it was premature as investigations were still ongoing and IRB had not imposed any fresh tax liability on him.

The court also granted a two-week interim stay to prevent IRB from taking further action against Azeez while the judicial review proceedings are pending.

Case management is scheduled on November 16 to fix hearing dates for the judicial review and the stay application.