1. Improvement Measures by the Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia
PEMUDAH and the Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia (IRB) continued to work to enhance the process for payment of taxes.
Beginning 2008, companies and individuals can register their tax files electronically via the e-Daftar. Companies can also submit their estimates and revisions of corporate tax liability on-line, providing an additional time-saving option for filing tax returns.
Other improvements include clarification of:
conditions and circumstances that would allow over payments to be set-off against tax instalments. This includes guidelines on when a group of companies could enjoy this set-off and the required documents;
circumstances under which lower tax estimates could be considered; and
circumstances under which penalties on late payment or under-estimation could be lowered or waived, and the scale of penalties which would increase with the number of offences the company committed.
Individual employees are relieved of the burden of having to claim for deduction in their personal tax returns with the introduction of a list of common employment benefits. This guide helps to clarify to the employers the activities that could be considered as expenditures incurred by the employees.
A joint review of the Public Ruling on Entertainment Expenditure has helped to clearly outline the circumstances under which a company would be eligible for a full or partial deduction on entertainment expenses.
Beginning 2008, tax payers and tax agents can submit their tax returns at any Assessment Branch in addition to the Central Processing Centre. All that is required is that they provide the proof of submission by manual means. Other than hastening the submission process, IRB has also incorporated an English section on its website www.hasil.gov.my to ensure that non-residents and foreigners are able to access information pertaining to their tax returns.
The IRB Client Charter now stipulates the timelines for IRB staff to address taxpayers’ appeals and objections. There is an internal mechanism to monitor their adherence to the charter.
2. Improvement Measures by Royal Malaysian Customs (RMC)
PEMUDAH together with the Royal Malaysian Customs (RMC)launched a number of measures in 2008 to facilitate trade:
Companies are now allowed to make payments at the nearest Customs office instead of only at controlled stations.
Excise Forms 7 and 8 can now be downloaded from the website www.customs.gov.my and forms can be submitted through diskette, CD or thumb drive.
The new Sales Tax Composite Form CJP1, is now only needed to be submitted in 3 copies instead of the obligatory 6 copies previously; and
Eliminated the requirement to submit the Daily Sales Record (Attachment A of Form CP3) for Service Tax purposes as well as an attachment to the Sales Tax Form CJ10.
