The Finance (No. 2) Act 2017 has been published in the Gazette on 29 December 2017, effective as of 1 January 2018. The Act includes certain measures of the 2018 Budget.
The law introduces new rules requiring companies to inform the tax authority of any change in their accounting periods, or else to expect penalties for late returns, late payments, etc. The Company must notify the Director-General of such failure in the prescribed form either; at least 30 days before the end of the new accounting period if the new period is less than 12 months or at least 30 days before end of the accounting period if the new period is greater than 12 months.
The amendment to section 60aa extends the scope of the deductible management expenses for Takaful (Islamic insurance) business and the introduction of a new formula for determining the deductible management expense amount.
The repeal of the thin capitalization provision introduced in 2009 regarding the non-recognition of interest deduction rules, but not yet implemented. Malaysia plans to introduce interest restriction rules based on BEPS Action 4 from 2019, although these rules are not part of the law.
