PETRONAS today confirmed that the Comptroller of State Sales Tax Sarawak and the Sarawak government have filed an action against them in Kuching High Court for non-payment of the state’s 5% sales tax on petroleum products.

Last Thursday, Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister’s Department Sharifah Hasidah Syeed Aman Ghazali said the comptroller and the state government had filed a writ of summons and statement of claims to recover the unpaid state taxes.

The threat to take the national oil company to court had been lumbering on for months.

Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg had also told the state legislative assembly two weeks ago when tabling the state budget said he was allowing the issue “to take its course” if the payment was not forthcoming.

Sarawak, which has more than half of the country’s known natural gas reserve, had given Petronas an October 31 deadline to make that payment.

The deadline passed without the payment.

However, sources told The Malaysian Insight that Petronas had requested the state to hold on to the legal action until after the matter was discussed at a November 18 meeting on the dispute in Putrajaya. – November 25, 2019.