Malaysia: Update on the Companies (Amendment) Act 2024 and the revised beneficial ownership reporting requirements

11 Mar 2024    2 minute read

In brief

We are pleased to share upcoming developments in relation to the Companies (Amendment) Act 2024 ("CA 2024") which will anchor the revised beneficial ownership (BO) reporting framework.

Contents

1. Implementation Plan

The approval process of the CA 2024 through the Malaysian Parliament was completed in December 2023. The CA 2024 subsequently received Royal Assent on 24 January 2024 and finally, the CA 2024 was gazetted on 2 February 2024. At this point in time, the CA 2024 has yet to be enforced.

We now understand that the enforcement date of the CA 2024 is likely to be on/around 1 April 2024. As previously advised, the revised BO provisions cover the following key areas:

  1. The expanded criteria of a beneficial owner.
  2. Register of beneficial owners to be maintained at the registered office.
  3. Mandatory requirement for a company to obtain BO information.
  4. Submission of the BO information to the CCM via an online platform known as the e-BOS system.
  5. Self-disclosure obligation by a BO of a company.

Please refer to our client alert issued on 24 October 2023 for details relating to the key changes to the BO provisions. 

2. Looking Ahead

To coincide with the commencement of the enforcement of the CA 2024, we anticipate that the Companies Commission of Malaysia (CCM) will introduce new BO reporting guidelines and practice directives on the implementation of the revised BO reporting obligations. This may include templates of the BO reporting documents and other compliance requirements. We also expect the CCM to provide a transition period (likely three months) for companies to identify and notify the CCM of their BOs.

Our corporate services team will consider and follow up with separate communication in due course with directional guidance on the required documents and proposed course of action to comply with the revised BO reporting requirements.

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Contact Information
Andre Gan
Partner
Kuala Lumpur
Read my Bio
andre.gan@wongpartners.com
Ee Von Teo
Partner
Kuala Lumpur
Read my Bio
eevon.teo@wongpartners.com
Poh Seng Lim
General Manager, B&M Consultancy Services
Kuala Lumpur
pohseng.lim@bakermckenzie.com

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