RPGT Appeal

Q.
If you are not agreeable to the RPGT imposed on your recent property disposal, what can you do?

A.
The transaction of real property would attract two taxes. One is the Stamp Duty and another is RPGT.

Stamp Duty is to be paid by the Transferee (to whom the property is sold to), whereas RPGT is on the seller who has made a profit from the sale of the property.

Appeal on Stamp Duty due is posted earlier in the links below.

Stamp Duty Objection and Appeal 2012 Q1
Stamp Duty Appeal Eric 2013 Q7b
Past Year 2011 Q4 Mrs Suria & Mr Wong
Past Year 2014 Q2 Ahmad & Salamah.

Here, the appeal of RPGT and its procedures are explained.

Appeal on RPGT due
Real Property Gains Tax Appeal is under the provision of Section 18 of the RPGT Act, 1976. The procedure of appeal is similar to the appeal in Income Tax Act, 1967 to the Special Commissioner of Tax. There is a finality of assessment, as in Section 20 which specifies that upon appeal, and reassessment, the tax due is to be final.

Here with RPGT Act, there is no provision for an appeal to the High Court like that of Stamp Act, 1949 Section 39. However, income tax and RPGT appeals had ended up in Courts, with the landmark cases ended up in Courts of Appeal. Recent years, it is said that it should be even heard in Federal Court as the quantum of tax is enormous and in a lot of time, it is money from the Rakyat or Government.

Right of appeal

18. (1) A person aggrieved by an assessment made on him may appeal to the Special Commissioners against the assessment in the same manner as an appeal against an assessment of income tax made under the Income Tax Act 1967, and sections 99, 100, 101, 101(1A), 101(1B), 101(1C) and 102 of that Act, as far as they are applicable and with the necessary modifications, shall apply to an appeal against an assessment made under this Act as if—

(a) every reference in those sections to income tax or to tax were a reference to real property gains tax; and

(b) every reference in those sections to income were a reference to chargeable gains.

(2) Schedule 5 to the Income Tax Act 1967, shall apply with necessary modifications to the hearing of appeals to the Special Commissioners and to the hearing of further appeals. Thus, the appeal of RPGT is like that of Income Tax Act, 1967.

The form to use is:

See below:

Form Q for Appeal against RPGT assessed

Finality of assessment

20. (1) Subject to this section, an assessment shall become final and conclusive for all the purposes of this Act as regards the amount of the tax assessed under it or the tax relief for allowable losses indicated in it, as the case may be—

(a) on the expiry of the time for appeal against the assessment; or

(b) where an appeal is made, on the appeal being finally disposed of.

Whatsoever, there is a provision in the RPGT Act on remission (Section 26). This is the part where the Director General/Minister can waive off tax due under:

Remission

26. (1) The tax paid or payable by any person may be remitted (cancelled), wholly or in part—

(a) on grounds of poverty, by the Director General;

(b) on grounds of undue hardship or justice and equity, by the Minister.

(2) Where a person granted remission under subsection (1) has paid any of the tax to which the remission relates, he shall be entitled to have the amount which he has paid refunded to him as