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FIRM NEWS
Shearn Delamore shortlisted for Malaysian Firm of the Year
Shearn Delamore has been shortlisted for the Chambers Asia-Pacific Awards 2016 — Firm of the Year — Malaysia together with Lee Hishammuddin Allen & Gledhill, Skrine, Wong & Partners, Zaid Ibrahim & Co and Zul Rafique & Partners. The awards ceremony will be held in Singapore on 8 April 2016.
These awards honour the work of national and international law firms across the region and they recognise a law firm’s pre-eminence in key countries in the region. They also reflect notable achievements over the past 12 months including outstanding work, impressive strategic growth and excellence in client service.
We have won the award of Law Firm of the Year for Malaysia in 2011, 2012 and 2014.
DISPUTE RESOLUTION
SPM Membrane Switch Sdn Bhd v Kerajaan Negeri Selangor [2016] 1 CLJ 177
A termination notice may not be defective in all cases if reasons are not stated in it, thereby causing the recipient of the notice to have reasonable doubt as to why they were terminated, in order to remain compliant with the contract. There are certain circumstances in which, as a matter of contract interpretation, the recipient is entitled to have the reasons for termination set out in the termination notice where the contract provides for a "grace period" for the defaulting party to remedy its breach.
Click here to read the full judgement.
Chain Cycle Sdn Bhd v Kerajaan Malaysia [2016] 1 CLJ 218
Once the Court dealing with a reference under s 42 of the Arbitration Act 2005 takes the view that the arbitral tribunal has correctly applied the law, the Court has to further consider the range of possible correct answers available to the tribunal. If the answer preferred by the tribunal was within the identified range, the Court answering the question of law before it would not intervene, although the Judge considering the question may have been inclined to come to a different conclusion.
Click here to read the full judgement.
For further information regarding dispute resolution matters, please contact
Datin Jeyanthini Kannaperan
jeyanthini@shearndelamore.com
Robert Lazar
rlazar@shearndelamore.com
EMPLOYMENT LAW
Revision of the contribution rates to the Employees Provident Fund
The monthly statutory contribution by the employee to the Employees Provident Fund has been reduced from 11 % to 8% for contributors below the age of 60. Contributors who are not keen to the reduction can opt to maintain the rate at 11%.
For contributors aged 60 and above the contribution rate has been reduced from 5.5% to 4%.
The new rate of contribution is for salaries between the period March 2016 to December 2017.
For further information regarding employment law matters, please contact
Sivabalah Nadarajah
sivabalah@shearndelamore.com
Vijayan Venugopal
vijayan@shearndelamore.com
TAX LAW
INCOME TAX
The Income Tax (Deduction for Expenditure on Issuance of Sukuk) Rules 2015 have been gazetted on 30 December 2015 and shall have effect from year of assessment 2016 to year of assessment 2018.
The Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia has recently issued six new public rulings on:
- Loan Or Advances To Director By A Company (Public Ruling No 8/2015) — issued on 30 November 2015
- Deduction of Interest Expense And Recognition of Interest Income For Loan Transactions Between Related Persons (Public Ruling No 9/2015) — issued on 3 December 2015
- Investment Holding Company (Public Ruling No 10/2015) — this public ruling was issued on 16 December 2015 to replace Public Ruling No 3/2011 dated 10 March 2011
- Tax Incentive For Angel Investor (Public Ruling No 11/2015) — issued on 16 December 2015
- Recovery From Persons Leaving Malaysia (Public Ruling No 12/2015) — issued on 17 December 2015
- Agriculture Allowances (Public Ruling No 1/2016) — issued on 20 January 2016.
REAL PROPERTY GAINS TAX
The Real Property Gains Tax (Exemption) Order 2015 has been gazetted on 22 December 2015. This Order is deemed to have come into operation on 1 November 2014.
STAMP DUTY
The Stamp Duty (Exemption) Order 2015 has been gazetted on 22 December 2015. This Order is deemed to have come into operation on 1 November 2014.
The Stamp Duty (Remission) Order 2015 has been gazetted on 29 December 2015 and this Order has effect for the period from 1 January 2016 to 31 December 2017.
GOODS AND SERVICES TAX (GST)
The following rules and orders have been gazetted on 14 December 2015 and have come into operation on 1 January 2016:
- Goods and Services Tax (Zero-Rated Supply) (Amendment) (No 2) Order 2015
- Goods and Services Tax (Relief) (Amendment) (No 2) Order 2015
- Goods and Services Tax (Exempt Supply) (Amendment) (No 2) Order 2015
- Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) (No 2) Regulations 2015.
The General Guide revised as at 16 March 2015 has been withdrawn and replaced with the General Guide as at 23 December 2015.
Further, the revised versions of the following Industry and Specific Guides have also been published on the Royal Malaysian Customs Department’s GST website:
- Accommodation Premises and Similar Establishment (revised as at 15 January 2016)
- Agents (revised as at 4 November 2015)
- Agriculture, Fisheries and Livestock Industry (revised as at 3 November 2015)
- Aviation Industry (revised as at 02 November 2015)
- Approved Jeweler Scheme (revised as at 03 November 2015)
- Approved Toll Manufacturer Scheme (revised as at 14 January 2016)
- Approved Trader Scheme (revised as at 12 January 2016)
- Auction Services (revised as at 5 November 2015)
- Bereavement Care Services Industry (revised as at 8 December 2015)
- Capital Goods Adjustment (revised as at 18 December 2015)
- Commercial Banking (revised as at 4 January 2016)
- Co-operatives (revised as at 11 November 2015)
- Designated Area (revised as at 12 January 2016)
- Development Financial Institution (revised as at 5 January 2016)
- Duty Free Shop (revised as at 14 January 2016)
- E-Commerce (revised as at 18 December 2015)
- Employee Benefit (revised as at 2 November 2015)
- Export (revised as at 21 December 2015)
- Forestry Industry (revised as at 8 January 2016)
- Free Commercial Zone (revised as at 5 January 2016)
- Free Industrial Zone and Licensed Manufacturing Warehouse (revised as at 5 January 2016)
- Freight Transportation (revised as at 18 December 2015)
- Government, Local Authority and Statutory Body (revised as at 3 November 2015)
- Healthcare Services (revised as at 3 November 2015)
- Hire Purchase and Credit Sale (revised as at 12 January 2016)
- Import (revised as at 12 January 2016)
- Input Tax Credit (revised as at 29 December 2015)
- Islamic Banking (revised as at 7 January 2016)
- Investment Banking (revised as at 6 January 2016)
- Leasing (revised as at 15 January 2016)
- Legal Practitioners (revised as at 22 December 2015)
- Manufacturing (revised as at 6 January 2016)
- Partial Exemption (revised as at 6 November 2015)
- Passenger Transportation (revised as at 18 December 2015)
- Payment Basis (revised as at 11 November 2015)
- Petroleum Upstream (revised as at 22 December 2015)
- Postal and Courier Services (revised as at 5 January 2016)
- Pre-tertiary Education (revised as at 11 November 2015)
- Professional Services (revised as at 13 January 2016)
- Registration (revised as at 13 January 2016)
- Relief for Second-Hand Goods (Margin Scheme) (revised as at 2 November 2015)
- Repossession (revised as at 5 November 2015)
- Share Issuing House & Share Registrar (revised as at 7 January 2016)
- Shipping Industries (revised as at 22 December 2015)
- Societies and Similar Organizations (revised as at 14 January 2016)
- Supply (revised as at 12 January 2016)
- Tax Invoice and Records Keeping (revised as at 30 December 2015)
- Trustee Services (revised as at 4 January 2016)
- Utility Industry (Electricity) (revised as at 11 November 2015)
- Valuation (revised as at 30 December 2015)
- Warehousing Scheme (revised as at 22 December 2015)
- Webhosting (revised as at 21 December 2015).
For further information regarding tax law matters, please contact
Goh Ka Im
kgoh@shearndelamore.com
Anand Raj
anand@shearndelamore.com
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