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Grant Thornton Malaysia has organised a webinar on Thursday, 11 June 2020 to help you navigate effectively. This webinar will focus on the key challenges and possible solutions for the various stakeholders involved.

The spread of the Covid-19 has been a global challenge socially and economically, and Malaysia is not spared from the crisis. In order to overcome the Covid-19 crisis, the Government has taken a strategy comprising of six approaches known as 6R - Resolve, Resilience, Restart, Recovery, Revitalise and Reform. As Malaysian enters the Recovery stage, an economic recovery plan known as Pelan Jana Semula Ekonomi Negara (PENJANA) will be introduced by the Government. This Adviser highlights the various tax measures that were announced as part of the initiatives of the PENJANA.

MFRS 16 contains specific requirements on accounting for lease modifications. Rent concessions that change the overall consideration for the lease are in the scope of these requirements. Lessees are currently required to assess whether rent concessions are lease modifications and, if they are, apply specific accounting guidance.

The Royal Malaysian Customs Department has recently announced another extension of payment deadlines to 30 June 2020. Penalties imposed on tax payments for the following will be fully remitted if the payments are made by 30 June 2020.

As the impact of a novel strain of coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to unfold around the world, those individuals responsible for preparing financial statements and approving them for issue need to be cognisant of not only what has happened and is happening at the reporting date and the time the financial statements are approved, but also what is likely to happen next.

Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad (“Bursa Malaysia”) is granting an extension of time of one month to listed issuers with financial year ending (“FYE“) on 31 March 2020 (“said Listed Issuers”) to issue their annual reports that include the annual audited financial statements and the auditors’ and directors’ reports (“AR”), which are due by 31 July 2020 under the Main Listing Requirements (“Main LR”) after considering that the said Listed Issuers may not have adequate time to prepare their AR which contains both financial and non-financial information. As such, the said Listed Issuer shall issue their AR by 31 August 2020 instead of 31 July 2020.

In view that the Movement Control Order is further extended to the fourth phase up until 12 May 2020, the deadlines for payments due to the Royal Malaysian Customs Department (“RMCD”) for the following returns have been further extended to 31 May 2020.

In support of the Government initiatives to ease the economic pressures faced by the corporate community arising from the Covid pandemic, Companies Commission of Malaysia (“SSM”) had on 7 April 2020 (Revised 15 April 2020) issued Practice Directive No. 6/2020 to clarify the special procedures for companies to apply for an extension of time to hold an AGM or to submit a financial statement and reports.

Due to the second extension of the Movement Control Order (“MCO”) for another two weeks from 15 April until 28 April 2020 announced by The Government on 10 April 2020, Bursa Malaysia has on 16 April 2020 announced additional temporary relief measures to listed issuers.

Further to the earlier Prihatin Rakyat Economic Stimulus Package, the Malaysia government announced additional measures valued at RM10 billion on 6 April 2020, aimed in helping businesses in particular SMEs to pull through this challenging period.

As the impact of a novel strain of coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to unfold around the world, those individuals responsible for preparing financial statements and approving them for issue need to be cognisant of not only what has happened and is happening at the reporting date and the time the financial statements are approved, but also what is likely to happen next.

With the rising impact of COVID-19 being seen worldwide, all industries will face significant disruption to their supply chain, workforce and cashflow. The right response will depend on the specific circumstances you and your business face. However, when experiencing significant stress or distress, we recommend you focus everything you do around the management of cash.

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is spreading around the globe rapidly. The virus has taken its toll on not just human life, but businesses and financial markets too, the extent of which is currently indeterminate. Entities need to carefully consider the accounting implications of this situation.

Due to the further extension of Movement Control Order (“MCO”) announced by the Government on 25 March 2020, Bursa Malaysia had on 26 March 2020 announced additional relief measures to alleviate the impact of Covid-19 on capital market players.

Due to the World Health Organization’s announcement on 11 March 2020, which categorised the COVID-19 outbreak as pandemic and the implementation of the Movement Control Order (“Order”) that is taking effect from 18 March 2020 to 31 March 2020 announced by Government on 16 March 2020; Companies Commission Malaysia (“SSM”), Securities Commission Malaysia (“SC”) and Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad (‘the Exchange”), had on 16 March 2020 and 17 March 2020 respectively announced on the followings

Following the implementation of the Movement Control Order for the period 18 March 2020 to 31 March 2020 (‘this period”), the Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia has granted extended deadlines and introduced temporary operating procedures during this period on various income tax, real property gains tax and stamp duty matters.