JUDGMENT

Ong Chee Kwan JCA:

A. Introduction

[1] This is the appeal of the Ketua Pengarah Hasil Dalam Negeri ("the Revenue") against the decision of the High Court (Hayatul Akmal J, as Her Ladyship then was) delivered on 29 July 2025, whereby the Learned Judge allowed the application for judicial review filed by Lush Development Sdn Bhd ("the Taxpayer") and, among other relief, ordered the Revenue to refund tax paid by the Taxpayer pursuant to s 4C of the Income Tax Act 1967 ("the ITA") for the year of assessment 2017, together with interest at 5% per annum from 8 March 2023, being the date the judicial review proceedings were commenced.

[2] The claim arises out of the decision of the Federal Court in Wiramuda (M) Sdn Bhd v. Ketua Pengarah Hasil Dalam Negeri [2023] 5 MLRA 285; [2023] 4 MLJ 753; [2023] 8 CLJ 21 ("Wiramuda"), delivered on 9 December 2022 with grounds issued on 31 May 2023, in which the Federal Court held that s 4C of the ITA was unconstitutional as it contravened art 13(2) of the Federal Constitution. The Taxpayer had, prior to Wiramuda, treated compensation of approximately RM22,470,845.00 received on the compulsory acquisition of its land as taxable business income under s 4C for the year of assessment 2017, and paid tax accordingly.