PETALING JAYA: The Inland Revenue Board (IRB) must explain why cheques issued to taxpayers over the past one week have been withdrawn.

Fomca secretary-general Muhammad Sha’ani Abdullah said the IRB needed to be transparent and accountable on the matter.

On Thursday, IRB issued a statement saying cheques issued as refund to taxpayers from May 27 to June 2 were being withdrawn on technical grounds. It did not specify what those technical grounds were.

“They have to explain, otherwise there may be a repeat of this. If someone was negligent, then disciplinary action must be taken.”He also urged IRB to liaise with Bank Negara in asking banks not to penalise taxpayers who had cashed their cheques.

When contacted, an IRB spokesperson said they had nothing more to add to the statement. IRB CEO Datuk Hasmah Abdullah would make another statement when the replacement cheques were ready on June 10, she added.