He succeeds Nizom Sairi, whose contract ended on Dec 16.

Abu Tariq was previously the deputy CEO (compliance). Before that, he held various key positions in LHDN, including deputy CEO (policy) and legal director.

With a law degree from Universiti Malaya, he started his career with LHDN in 1995 and has experience in direct taxation, including legislation and tax compliance.

He had also served as a deputy revenue solicitor in LHDN, and was involved in the bid to recover over RM1.69 billion in additional tax arrears from former prime minister Najib Razak.

In 2020, the Kuala Lumpur High Court allowed LHDN to proceed with a summary judgment to recover the tax arrears in 2020, a ruling upheld by the Federal Court two months ago.

LHDN thanked Nizom for his service, having served the government agency for 38 years.

Under his leadership, LHDN achieved the highest-ever direct tax collection in the country’s history in 2022, reaching RM175.4 billion.