Malaysia: Extension of time for lodgement of beneficial ownership information

In brief

We refer to our previous client alert on the implementation of the beneficial ownership reporting obligations, administered by the Companies Commission of Malaysia ("CCM"), which came into effect on 1 April 2024. These statutory and reporting requirements imposed the obligation on companies to notify the CCM of their beneficial owners via the dedicated e-BOS portal. The CCM provided a transition period of three months (from 1 April 2024 to 30 June 2024) for companies to complete this reporting obligation.

The CCM has recently announced the extension of the transition period by a further three months ending 30 September 2024 ("Extended Transition Period"). This is to provide companies additional time to comply with the beneficial ownership reporting obligation.


Contents

Key takeaways

Please refer to the revised Practice Directive 9/2024 issued by the CCM here.

Once the Extended Transition Period ends, companies have a continuous obligation to properly maintain the register of beneficial owners ("RBO") and ensure that the RBO is up-to-date. This would entail companies sending out yearly notices to seek confirmation of the beneficial owners and record any changes to the particulars of the beneficial owners. Looking ahead, we anticipate that the format of the annual return will be revised to include the particulars of the beneficial owners, enabling the annual return to be lodged with the CCM together with the beneficial ownership information at the same time.

* * * * *

LOGO Malaysia_Wong & Partners_KualaLumpur

© 2024 Wong & Partners. All rights reserved. Wong & Partners, member of Baker & McKenzie International. This may qualify as “Attorney Advertising” requiring notice in some jurisdictions. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

Contact Information
Poh Seng Lim
General Manager, B&M Consultancy Services
Kuala Lumpur
pohseng.lim@bakermckenzie.com

Copyright © 2024 Baker & McKenzie. All rights reserved. Ownership: This documentation and content (Content) is a proprietary resource owned exclusively by Baker McKenzie (meaning Baker & McKenzie International and its member firms). The Content is protected under international copyright conventions. Use of this Content does not of itself create a contractual relationship, nor any attorney/client relationship, between Baker McKenzie and any person. Non-reliance and exclusion: All Content is for informational purposes only and may not reflect the most current legal and regulatory developments. All summaries of the laws, regulations and practice are subject to change. The Content is not offered as legal or professional advice for any specific matter. It is not intended to be a substitute for reference to (and compliance with) the detailed provisions of applicable laws, rules, regulations or forms. Legal advice should always be sought before taking any action or refraining from taking any action based on any Content. Baker McKenzie and the editors and the contributing authors do not guarantee the accuracy of the Content and expressly disclaim any and all liability to any person in respect of the consequences of anything done or permitted to be done or omitted to be done wholly or partly in reliance upon the whole or any part of the Content. The Content may contain links to external websites and external websites may link to the Content. Baker McKenzie is not responsible for the content or operation of any such external sites and disclaims all liability, howsoever occurring, in respect of the content or operation of any such external websites. Attorney Advertising: This Content may qualify as “Attorney Advertising” requiring notice in some jurisdictions. To the extent that this Content may qualify as Attorney Advertising, PRIOR RESULTS DO NOT GUARANTEE A SIMILAR OUTCOME. Reproduction: Reproduction of reasonable portions of the Content is permitted provided that (i) such reproductions are made available free of charge and for non-commercial purposes, (ii) such reproductions are properly attributed to Baker McKenzie, (iii) the portion of the Content being reproduced is not altered or made available in a manner that modifies the Content or presents the Content being reproduced in a false light and (iv) notice is made to the disclaimers included on the Content. The permission to re-copy does not allow for incorporation of any substantial portion of the Content in any work or publication, whether in hard copy, electronic or any other form or for commercial purposes.