Finance Act 2021

The Finance Act 2021 has been gazetted on 31 December 2021. Please refer to Sections 3, 29, 36, 45, 52, 59, 64 and 66 as to when the provisions come into operation.

Income tax

The following Rules and Order have recently been gazetted:

Income Tax (Deduction for the Sponsorship of Scholarship to Malaysian Student Pursuing Studies at the Technical and Vocational Certificate Levels) Rules 2021 — gazetted on 31 December 2021 and deemed to have effect from year of assessment 2015;
Income Tax (Conditions for the Grant of Rebate under subsection 6D(4)) Order 2021 — gazetted on 31 December 2021 and has effect from year of assessment 2021;
Income Tax (Deduction for Expenditure in relation to Vendor Development Programme) Rules 2022 — gazetted on 6 January 2022 and have effect from year of assessment 2021; and
Income Tax (Deduction for Investment in a Project of Commercialisation of Research and Development Findings) Rules 2022 — gazetted on 6 January 2022 and deemed to have come into operation on 7 November 2020.

The following public rulings and technical guideline have recently been published on the Inland Revenue Board’s official website:

Notification of Change of Accounting Period by a Company / Limited Liability Partnership / Trust Body /Co -operative Society (Public Ruling No. 6/2021) — issued on 29 December 2021 to replace Public Ruling No. 8/2019 dated 6 December 2019;
Partnerships Taxation Part I – Determination of the Existence of a Partnership (Public Ruling No. 7/2021) — issued on 29 December 2021;
Partnerships Taxation Part II – Computation and Allocation of Income (Public Ruling No. 8/2021) — issued on 29 December 2021;
Private Retirement Scheme (Public Ruling No. 9/2021) — issued on 29 December 2021 to replace Public Ruling No. 9/2014 dated 24 December 2014;
Tax Treatment of Research and Development Expenditure Part II – Special Deductions (Public Ruling No. 10/2021) — issued on 29 December 2021 to replace Public Ruling No. 6/2020 dated 13 August 2020;
Bilateral Credit and Unilateral Credit (Public Ruling No. 11/8/2021) — issued on 31 December 2021 to replace Public Ruling No. 11/2011 dated 20 December 2011; and
Guidelines on the Application Procedure for a Special Deduction in respect of a Qualifying Research and Development Activity — issued on 29 December 2021.

Service tax

The revised versions of the following industry guides and a new policy have recently been published on the Royal Malaysian Customs Department’s MySST website:

Guide on Food & Beverages (as at 27 December 2021) — to replace the earlier version dated 2 November 2018;
Guide on Motor Vehicle Service or Repair (as at 28 December 2021) — to replace the earlier version dated 24 August 2018;
Guide on Parking Services (as at 28 December 2021) — to replace the earlier version dated 24 August 2018; and
Dasar Cukai Perkhidmatan Bil. 3/2021 – Pengecualian Cukai Perkhidmatan ke atas Perkhidmatan Pembrokeran berkaitan Dagangan Saham (available in Malay language only) — issued on 31 December 2021.