JUDGMENT
Introduction
[1] This is an appeal against the judgment of the High Court which had allowed the respondent's judicial review application for a certiorari under O 53 of the Rules of Court 2012 ("the RC 2012") quashing the appellant's decision in apportioning and reducing the respondent's claim of input tax credit under the now repealed Goods and Services Tax Act 2014.
[2] Having heard the appeal - which was conducted by way of a remote communication technology via Zoom - examined the appeal records and considered the submissions by parties, we unanimously decided to affirm the decision of the High Court, and therefore dismiss the appeal, for the reasons which we set out herein. Key Background Facts
[3] The respondent company, Metrogold Commercial Sdn Bhd is principally involved in the property development business, which therefore includes the buying and selling of lands. The appellant is the Director-General of the Royal Malaysian Customs Department ("the DG of Customs").
[4] On 24 November 2015, in pursuance of its property development activities, the respondent executed a Lease Purchase Agreement ("the Agreement") with Metrogold Assets Sdn Bhd ("M Assets") for the purchase of the lease of five plots of freehold land in Medini Iskandar Malaysia (for present purposes identified as Plots C4, C5, C6, C13 and C14) from the owner, M Assets (" the Lands") for a purchase consideration of RM170,650,000.00.
[5] The respondent had however paid not only the RM170,650,000.00 as the purchase price but also RM10,239,000.00 as the Goods and Services Tax ("GST") amount incurred by the respondent in respect of the said purchase.
[6] The respondent was registered as a GST registered person effective 1 March 2016. The respondent then made an input tax credit claim ("the ITC Claim") amounting to RM10,239,000, being the GST in the respondent company's first GST Return Form for its first taxable period of 1 March 2016 to 31 March 2016.