MARCH 30 — In light of the movement control order (MCO), the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) andthe Royal Malaysian Customs (RMC) have made various announcements in respect of managing our tax affairs.

This is timely as March is when individual taxpayers with business source income finalise their CP 500 instalment plan and make their first instalment payment.

Meanwhile, individual taxpayers with non-business income ordinarily file their tax returns by end April or by mid-May for online submission.

1. Are the IRB and RMC offices open during the MCO?

All IRB offices are closed during the MCO period. However, queries regarding taxation can be posted online to the IRB at: https://maklumbalaspelanggan.hasil.gov.my/MaklumBalas/ms-MY.

Taxpayers may use the online facility to apply for income tax reference number including e-Filing PIN number or if they forgot their e-Filing password.

The IRB’s Hasil Care Line has been suspended from March 26, 2020 until the end of the MCO.

The RMC has been classified as providing essential services and as such, their operations at the ports, airports and borders operate as usual albeit with minimum personnel.

Although the RMC offices are open for their operations, all scheduled meetings including round-table-discussions with taxpayers at the RMC offices are cancelled.

Taxpayers have been requested to use the RMC’s online facility for communication purposes including to arrange for online meetings.

The contact details are available at: http://www.customs.gov.my/en/cu/Pages/cu_ccc.aspx.

2. What is the extended filing period for tax returns?

The filing of all income tax return forms that falls between March and June 2020 is extended by 2 months. Thus, an individual with employment income is given until June 30, 2020 to file his income tax return as opposed to filing the same on April 30, 2020.

Meanwhile, an individual with business source income is given until August 31, 2020 to file his tax income return as opposed to June 30, 2020.

The same 2-month extension is also given to companies whose income tax return filing is due between March and June 2020.

Additionally, the filing date of the following tax forms is extended to April 30, 2020: