Malaysia – Tax & Revenue Update – March 2020.

Tax & Customs Matters during Movement Control Order Period

 

In view of the Movement Control Order (“MCO”) currently in force in Malaysia, the Inland Revenue Board (“IRB”) has issued a list of Frequently Asked Questions on tax matters arising during the MCO period including extensions of time given for the filing of tax returns and notices of appeal by way of Forms, submission of documents in respect of ongoing tax audits or investigations and so on. For the full FAQ, please refer to http://lampiran1.hasil.gov.my/pdf/pdfam/faq_2.pdf.

 

Similarly, the Royal Malaysian Customs Department (“RMCD”) also issued a list of FAQ — please refer to https://tinyurl.com/w49roak. Although the RMCD had earlier announced that the deadline for submission of any return ending 31 March 2020 is extended until 15 April 2020 (https://tinyurl.com/tjefq9e), this has been further extended to 30 April 2020 in light of the extension of MCO period announced by the Prime Minister on 25 March 2020. To view the latest announcement, please refer to https://tinyurl.com/veuhvpa.

Income Tax

 

The following guideline and practice note have recently been published on the IRB’s official website:

 

1. Practice Note No. 1/2020 on Penjelasan Berhubung Peruntukan Kerugian dalam Perintah Cukai Pendapatan (Pengecualian) (No. 3) 2018 [P.U.(A) 251/2018] bagi Unit Perniagaan Mata Wang Antarabangsa (available in Malay language only) issued on 17 February 2020; and

2. Operational Guideline No. 1/2020 on Procedure on Submission of Amended Return Form issued on 6 March 2020 (to replace Operational Guideline No. 4/2019 issued on 30 August 2019).

 

Service Tax

 

The following policies have recently been published on RMCD’s MySST website:

 

1. Service Tax Policy on Accounting of Service Tax for Persons Exempted from Payment of Service Tax under Item 3 and 4, Service Tax (Persons Exempted from Payment of Tax) Order 2018 (Service Tax Policy No. 7/2020) issued on 28 February 2020;

2. Service Tax Policy on Group Relief Facility on Provision of Taxable Services to Company within the Same Group of Companies (Service Tax Policy No. 8/2020) issued on 28 February 2020; and

3. Service Tax Policy on Service Tax Treatment on Group A: Accommodation First Schedule Service Tax Regulations 2018 under Economic Stimulus Package 2020 (ESP 2020) (Service Tax Policy No. 9/2020) issued on 6 March 2020.

 

Customs Duty
 

The Customs (Compounding of Offences) Regulations 2020 have been gazetted on 3 March 2020.

 

Excise Duty
 

The Excise (Compounding of Offences) Regulations 2020 have been gazetted on 3 March 2020.