By Adrian Lim and Ling Hui
KUCHING, Sept 17: National oil corporation Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas) has handed over a cheque for RM2.957 billion to the state government for the settlement of outstanding State Sales Tax (SST) on the exports of petroleum products for 2019.
Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg received the cheque on behalf of the state government from Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas) chairman Tan Sri Ahmad Nizam Salleh at a handover ceremony at Wisma Bapa Malaysia here today.
The payment was the result of an agreement reached between Petronas and the Sarawak State Government whereby the two parties agreed on the management of Sarawak oil and gas assets and the imposition of sales tax on the exports of petroleum products by the state government.
Earlier, both parties were embroiled in a legal battle whereby the Sarawak State Government had initiated legal proceeding against Petronas over the unpaid SST.
Subsequently, Petronas filed an appeal and through negotiations between the Perikatan Nasional (PN) federal government and the Sarawak state government, both parties managed to reach an amicable solution through commercial settlement to create a stable environment for business and investment.
On August 3, Petronas withdrew its appeal and the Sarawak government reciprocated the goodwill by withdrawing its cross-appeal over the jurisdiction issue at the Court of Appeal at Putrajaya. — DayakDaily
