Quashed Illegal Travel Ban Over Unpaid Sales Tax

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High Court judge Anand Ponnudurai ordered the names of the four company directors to be removed from the immigration department’s travel blacklist immediately.
GEORGE TOWN: The High Court has quashed an “illegal” travel ban imposed by the customs department on four directors of a sauce company over unpaid sales tax.
Justice Anand Ponnudurai said the travel ban was irrational, illegal, and a breach of natural justice and ordered that the travel ban be quashed, as well as the names of the directors removed from the immigration department’s travel blacklist immediately.
The four directors are Khoh Keow Bok, 53; Goh Chye Choo, 84; Yeap Hin Eng, 36; and Noor Azura Kassim, 49.
The travel ban was imposed on the grounds that their company, Wellesley Spice Sdn Bhd, underpaid RM482,774 in sales tax in 2023. The judge said there was no proof that the directors were planning to leave the country without settling the tax.
The directors had previously appealed against the tax bill to the finance minister in December 2023, saying the sum was in dispute. However, the customs department wrote to immigration officials in March 2024 to have them blacklisted.
In his ruling today, Anand said the department had imposed the travel ban without first considering whether the directors could furnish security for the unpaid tax.
The judge said the law does not stipulate an automatic travel ban simply because a company owes taxes. “It is only fair that taxpayers be informed beforehand that a restriction will be imposed unless the tax is paid or security is furnished, in line with the principles of natural justice,” the judge said.
The customs and immigration departments, in their defence to the suit, said the ban imposed was by the book. They contended that the courts could not interfere with government orders, stating that the Immigration Act prevents courts from reviewing immigration-related decisions.
However, the court rejected their argument. The judge ruled that the government cannot use ouster clauses to shield itself from legal scrutiny.
He ordered the government to pay RM5,000 in costs.
Lawyers Cheong Yew Sheng and Lim En You appeared for the plaintiffs, while federal counsel Afif Ali appeared for the government. - FMT

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