27/10/2025

BIZ & FINANCE MONDAY | OCT 27, 2025

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Are you ready for stamp duty self-assessment in 2026? Penalty pains

THERE will be a big change in the stamp duty regime from the official assessment system where the tax authorities will determine the duty payable to the self-assessment system where the taxpayer will self-assess the duty from Jan 1, 2026. Effectively the responsibility for determining the duty is now shifted from Inland Revenue Board (IRB) to the taxpayer. If you make a mistake, you will be “hammered” with penalties. It can be a massive difference between the position taken by the taxpayer versus the IRB – the difference could range between RM10 and millions of ringgit if it is a high value transaction involving ad valorem duty which can be a maximum of 4% of the value of the transaction. Since taxpayers have not been paying much attention to the Stamp Act in the past due to the lack of compliance monitoring by IRB and the taxpayers are unaware of the provisions in the Stamp Act, it will be of no surprise if taxpayers are going to be “hit” with additional taxes and significant penalties. The headaches faced by taxpayers will be: whether to stamp a document or not; at which rate of duty it should be stamped; what value should the stamping be based on; timing of the stamping; understanding the substance of the document. These are not easy questions to answer because the language used in the Stamp Act is antiquated as the act was initially enacted in a different era back in 1949.

How to face the oncoming “tsunami” High standards of governance with a clear tax policy must be set by the board of directors. This will involve establishing internal controls to ensure that all instruments are properly evaluated by responsible and educated members of the management team. The senior members of the manage ment who will be responsible for managing the process should be able to identify the risk, evaluate the risk, and have the capability to manage the risk before the risk crystallises. It will include the finance team, the legal team, and members of the senior management to set the policy and procedures to be followed, supervised and authorised to take decisions. This article is contributed by Thannees Tax Consulting Services Sdn Bhd managing director SM Thanneermalai (www.thannees.com). Miti fostering stronger regional cooperation to unlock markets, supply chains KUALA LUMPUR: The Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (Miti) is committed to creating an enabling environment where businesses can invest, trade and thrive by working closely with the Asean Business Advisory Council, the private sector and regional partners. Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz said the collaborations will boost market access, supply chain connectivity and sustainable industrial development. He said the effort aligns with Malaysia’s Asean Chairmanship theme of “Inclusivity and Sustainability”, which reinforces Asean’s position as a trusted nexus for trade and investment. “This year’s flagship initiatives, including advancing the Asean Power Grid and Asean Digital Economy Framework Agreement and upgrading trade agreements with China, India and among Asean states, are meant to achieve all those objectives and more. “Additionally, the launching of the Asean micro, small and medium enterprises Green Transition Centre underscores our firm commitment that no enterprise, regardless of size, should be left behind, because when MSMEs thrive, Asean prospers,” he said in his opening remarks at the Asean Business and Investment Summit 2025 (ABIS 2025) here. Tengku Zafrul said ABIS 2025 convenes at a pivotal moment for Asean. “The global economic terrain is in flux, shaped by shifting supply chains, recalibrated trade alliances, and the relentless momentum of digital transformation. Yet amid this uncertainty, Asean stands not on the sidelines but at the forefront as a beacon of resilience, stability, and shared opportunity,” he added. – Bernama

mented in three phases: Phase 1 – Jan 1, 2026 will apply to instru ments or agreements related to rental or lease, general stamping and securities; Phase 2 – Jan 1, 2027 will apply to instruments or transfer of property ownership; and Phase 3 – Jan 1, 2028, all other instruments. Under the self-assessment system docu ments that need to be stamped must be submitted for stamping within the stipulated timeframe along with the return to IRB in the Stamp Portal. It must be electronically submitted. If there is an error in the calculation, IRB has the right to audit and reassess the amount owed within five years starting from when the duty was paid or should have been paid. The burden of ensuring that the correct duty is paid is entirely now shifted to the shoulders of the taxpayer. Taxpayers have the duty to keep records to substantiate their stamp duty filing for seven years from the date the duty is paid. Revenue for the quarter fell 8% year-on year to RM8 million from RM8.69 million previously. The decline reflected slower project deliveries as the group ramped up investment in developing its proprietary solutions to build recurring income streams. Tan said the artificial intelligence (AI) and electric vehicles (EV) segments will be catalysts for business growth in the current and coming financial years. “Moving forward, we expect strong demand, particularly in two areas, artificial intelligence and electric vehicles. We have delivered many successful case studies helping clients with digital transformation using AI. This year alone, we are helping two major automotive players in Malaysia launch EV platforms that will allow car owners to charge with different charging operators,” he added. As of Oct 24, Agmo had a market capitalisation of RM141.38 million. The company recorded a return on equity of 14.37% and a dividend yield of 3.45%.

The basic penalties that taxpayers will face will start with the late stamping of documents – if documents are stamped within three months of the due date of stamping the penalty will be RM50 or 10% of the deficient duty or whichever is higher. The same principle will apply if the documents are stamped after three months, with the duty being increased to RM100 or 20%, whichever is higher. Failure to furnish a return can trigger a maximum penalty of RM10,000 on conviction and submitting an incorrect return can similarly on conviction be subject to a fine of RM1,000 and not more than RM10,000 plus a special penalty. The Stamp Act is “littered” with many more penalties throughout the Act. Akan datang : What’s next The self-assessment regime will be imple

Agmo’s short-term earnings dip seen as strategic trade-off for innovation: CEO

Ű BY HAYATUN RAZAK sunbiz@thesundaily.com

about RM40 million. Malaysia remains Agmo’s core market, but the company is expanding into Singapore and Vietnam as part of its regional growth strategy. “Recently, we secured a contract from one of the regional automotive players in Singapore, which also has operations in Malaysia. That project will be handled under our Singapore entity,” Tan said. The company formally

KUALA LUMPUR: Agmo Holdings Bhd’s short-term earnings dip is seen as a strategic trade-off for innovation, the digital solutions provider’s CEO, Tan Aik Keong ( pic ), said. He said Agmo is transitioning from purely custom-built projects to developing and owning its own digital platforms to allow the company to generate more scalable and recurring revenue.

incorporated a Singapore entity, Agmo SG Pte Ltd (90% owned), on May 5, 2023 as part of its regional expansion. For the first quarter of FY2026 ended June 30, 2025 (Q1’26), revenue from Malaysia stood at RM7.53 million, accounting for more than 94% of total group revenue. Singapore contributed RM138,649, down from RM208,390 in the same quarter a year earlier. Vietnam recorded RM274,293, a sharp increase from just RM3,159 previously, while other countries contributed RM55,879. Overall, Agmo posted a net profit of RM760,000 for Q1’26, down 47.8% from RM1.46 million a year earlier, mainly due to delays in completing key project milestones and higher payroll costs. “We’re looking at connectivity. There are certain things that the Prime Minister has asked my ministry and MCMC to look at. We will likely assess sharing experience of rolling out 5G,” he told reporters at the International Media Centre after the opening ceremony of the 47th Asean Summit and Related Summits here yesterday. Fahmi also said the Timor-Leste government shows interest in the National Information Dissemination Centre (NADI) of Malaysia initiative as well as subsea cables. “From Oct 17, Malaysians who are travelling to Timor-Leste can get good

“So last quarter, the revenue drop was basically because we invested more manpower into R&D, as we will be launching a new product targeting SMEs, an AI suite for small and medium enterprises. Hence, we didn’t have too much manpower to deliver on existing projects,” he told SunBiz . Tan said the company foresees healthy growth ahead in both its business solutions development and software-as-a-service segments. “Our order book remains very strong. That’s the reason behind the temporary revenue dip, because we are investing more time in R&D.” Tan said Agmo’s order book stands at KUALA LUMPUR: The Communications Ministry and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) have been directed to further explore several areas of cooperation with Timor-Leste, including sharing Malaysia’s experience in rolling out the 5G network, said Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil. He said this was the directive given by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim after the signing of two significant memorandums of understanding on Saturday, aimed at broader collaboration between government agencies and institutions from both countries.

Agmo posted earnings per share of 3 sen on a diluted and normalised basis, supported by a gross profit margin of 44.68%; earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation margin of 32.18%; and operating income margin of 28.89%. Its next earnings announcement is scheduled for Nov 21. Ministry, MCMC to explore further cooperation with Timor-Leste

Asean roaming packages, which were not available before. “Malaysian and Timorese telecommuni cations companies are in discussions right now about having also better packages for data for travellers and tourists. So this is a very good first step,” he said. Fahmi also described Timor-Leste’s accession as the 11th member of Asean as a very historic moment, reflecting the growing Asean community. He added that Malaysia is proud to host more than 2,900 media practitioners from around the world and hopes that the 47th Asean Summit will proceed well. – Bernama