On 23 April, 2020, AMCHAM held its first virtual Members’ Briefing. Attendance was high, exceeding 60, and lively.
The briefing began with AMCHAM CEO Siobhan Das updating members on what’s been going on at AMCHAM since the Movement Control Order (MCO) was implemented. Major highlights include the new working groups within the AMCHAM membership specifically to tackle the issues related to MCO. Also highlighted were the developments with the MY AMCHAM CARES initiatives in supporting the frontliners fighting COVID-19.
Dean Thompson, Charge d’Affaires of the U.S. Embassy of Malaysia provided insight on the U.S efforts towards battling the COVID-19, updates on APEC and introduced some new products and services to lighten the load for businesses, as well as business and economic issues impacting citizens and business in Malaysia currently.
Members participated in a Q&A session, discussing topics such as Singapore’s current situation, migrant workers, safety issues, and more. Overall, this was a successful virtual session, look forward to more.
Unlocking cash flow – exploring Indirect Tax incentives, exemptions and concessions
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about significant disruption and uncertainty to businesses and economies globally. In these trying times, businesses will inevitably focus almost exclusively on immediate concerns. Furthermore, as COVID-19 continues to create uncertainty, fear and genuine concern for many businesses, the need for more strategic, purposeful and longer-term responses has also been a matter of great importance
Join us at our webinar on Friday, 24 April 2020, 10:30 a.m. where we will explore strategies and consider practical steps from an indirect tax standpoint that you should consider to stabilize your business, maintain continuity and manage the crisis.
These include:
- Understanding the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on businesses from an indirect tax perspective;
- Taking into consideration the indirect tax-related measures provided by the Government to ease cash flow of businesses amidst the pandemic; and
- Exploring available options to businesses to mitigate the indirect tax-related issues brought about by COVID-19.
Who should attend?
- Chief financial officers
- Tax directors and executives
- Financial controllers
- Finance managers
- Head of procurement
Don’t miss this 60-minute webinar that aims to provide you with insights and practical action steps to help you navigate these unprecedented times, and thrive beyond.
Date & Time: Friday, 24 April 2020, 10:30 a.m.
Participants may submit questions in advance to [email protected]
RSVP by 23 April 2020, 12:00 p.m. to [email protected]
Confirmation and link will be sent to all participants upon RSVP.
This event is by invitation only and the invitation is not transferable.
EY wishes to inform that on 17 April 2020, the Royal Malaysian Customs Department (“RMCD”) released Service Tax Policy No. 10/2020, via the MySST portal.
The salient points of the Policy, which provides clarification regarding service tax exemption on the provision of digital services in relation to local banking/financial services, are as follows:
- Effective 1 January 2020, the provision of digital services by local service providers is a prescribed taxable service under Item (m), Group G, First Schedule of the Service Tax Regulations 2018.
- The Minister of Finance has stipulated that with effect from 1 January 2020, the provision of digital services in relation to banking/financial services by local service providers is not subject to 6% service tax, with reference to Section 34(4) of the Service Tax Act 2018.
- Recipients of the above-mentioned services provided by local service providers are exempted from paying service tax under Section 34(3)(a) of the Service Tax Act 2018.
- The local digital service providers covered by the Policy, are as follows:
- Banks, investment banks or any financial institutions which are licensed under the relevant financial services legislations;
- Licensed financial development institutions; and
- Any digital service provider who fulfills the following conditions:
- A registered person under the Service Tax Act 2018;
- A digital service provider in Malaysia; and
iii. Provides digital services in relation to the withdrawal or transfer of money from one bank account to another bank account, where the service charge is charged separately to the account holder
- However, please note that the above service tax exemption does not apply to the following:
- Digital banking/financial services provided by foreign service providers to consumers in Malaysia
- Digital services in relation to services other than banking/financial services provided by the above-mentioned local service providers
- As a consequence of the above, the following transitional rules will be applicable:
- Where service tax has been accounted for on an accrual basis (i.e., based on the date of the issuance of invoice) and the corresponding payment has yet to be received for services rendered on or after 1 January 2020, the registered person is required to issue a credit note to the customer and thereafter, perform the necessary service tax adjustments.
- Where the services were provided before 1 January 2020 and span after 1 January 2020, service tax shall be charged only on the portion of the service which is attributable to the period before 1 January 2020.
- No refund of service tax will be given to anyone who has paid the service tax.
The full and complete copy of the above-mentioned Policy (only available in Bahasa Malaysia at this juncture) issued by the RMCD can be found in the MySST Portal.
The Inland Revenue Board (IRB) has now issued a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) document, in Bahasa Malaysia, titled “Soalan Berkaitan Pindaan Anggaran Cukai (CP204) Pada Bulan Ketiga Ansuran Dalam Tahun 2020 Dan Penangguhan Bayaran Anggaran Cukai Bagi Syarikat Berkaitan Industri Pelancongan Dan Perusahaan Kecil Dan Sederhana (PKS) Di Bawah Pakej Rangsangan Ekonomi (PRE) 2020”, to provide clarification on the above proposals. The Doc below Provides some key points.
The Covid-19 epidemic has brought about a crisis unlike anything we have faced before. Times are uncertain, the economic outlook is hard to predict, and it remains unknown whether things could return to normal. On 21 April, 2020, AMCHAM had a topical webinar titled Navigating the Global Storm – an ASEAN Perspective. A collaboration with Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia Berhad, this was the first AMCHAM webinar to take place during the Movement Control Order. Over 50 attendees joined the session.
The speakers for this session are Edward Lee Wee Kok, ASEAN Chief Economist at Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia Berhad, Divya Devesh Head of ASA FX Research at Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia Berhad, and Cze Wien Lim Associate Director, Financial Markets at Standard Chartered Bank.
The speakers brought insight on how the events of the past weeks have impacted the economy, from Ringgit value to GDP growth and the impact on labour/employment. Since this is an unprecedented event, it is harder to make future predictions, but both speakers gave an idea on what the outcome could be especially if the lockdown is continued.
This webinar was also an interactive session with audience providing feedback on the current situation and future predictions as well as raising questions to the speakers.
On 27 February 2020, the Malaysian Government announced a RM20 billion Economic Stimulus Package to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 outbreak and reinvigorate the growth of the Malaysian economy.
The Doc attached provides insight into the Economic Stimulus Package
