Instruments chargeable with duty
(1) Subject to this Act and subject to the exemptions contained in this Act and in any written law for the time being in force, the several instruments specified in the First Schedule shall, from and after the commencement of this Act, be chargeable with the several duties specified in such Schedule.
(2) Nothing in this Act shall render liable to additional duty any instrument whereon duty is expressly imposed under any other written law in force in Malaysia.
(3) Where in the case of any sale, lease, charge, settlement, exchange or partition several instruments are employed for completing the transaction, the principal instrument only shall be chargeable with the duty prescribed in the First Schedule for the conveyance, lease, charge, settlement or partition and each of the other instruments shall be chargeable with a duty of ten ringgit only; and the parties may determine for themselves which of the instruments so employed shall, for the purpose of this subsection, be deemed to be the principal instrument.
(4) The duties imposed by such Schedule may be cancelled, varied or added to by a resolution of the House of Representatives.
Stamp duty on instruments executed outside Malaysia effecting transfers of property in Malaysia
4 A. (1) Any instrument executed outside Malaysia and purporting to effect a transfer of any immovable property, or of any movable property other than debentures issued by, or shares in, a company, shall, if the property intended to be transferred is situated in any part of Malaysia, be chargeable with stamp duty in accordance with the First Schedule, and unless the instrument of transfer, or a counterpart or duplicate thereof which shall be chargeable with the like duty as if it were the original, is brought into Malaysia and the proper stamp duty payable thereon as if the original had been executed in Malaysia is paid, the transfer shall not take effect.
(2) Where any instrument executed outside Malaysia and purporting to effect a transfer of debentures issued by, or shares in, a company incorporated in Malaysia under section 16 of the Companies Act 1965 [Act 125] or a foreign company registered in Malaysia under section 332 of that Act is produced or delivered to the company for registration, in the case of a company incorporated in Malaysia, in a register of debenture holders or a register of members of the company kept in Malaysia in pursuance of section 70 or 158 of that Act or, in the case of a foreign company, in a branch register of the foreign company kept in Malaysia in pursuance of section 342 of that Act, the company or foreign company shall, unless the instrument of transfer bears a stamp, duly cancelled in accordance with this Act, showing—
(a) that the proper stamp duty has been paid thereon in accordance with the First Schedule; or
(b) such other evidence of payment of the proper stamp duty as this Act may allow,
refuse to register the transfer and the transfer shall not take effect.
(3) Where any instrument of transfer of any of the descriptions mentioned in subsection (2) is registered otherwise than in accordance with that subsection, the company or foreign company and the officer of the company or foreign company responsible for making the entry in the register shall be liable to a fine not exceeding two hundred and fifty ringgit.
(4) In this section—
(a) (Omitted);
(b) expressions which are defined in the Companies Act 1965 shall have the same meaning as in that Act.
Payment of Duty
All facts and circumstances to be set out
All the facts and circumstances affecting the liability of any instrument to duty or the amount of the duty with which any instrument is chargeable are to be fully and truly set forth in the instrument, and the Collector may require such evidence to be furnished as may be reasonably necessary to prove that all such facts and circumstances are truly set forth.
Loan and financing for the purposes of small business
Every instrument being the only or principal or primary security for the payment or repayment of—
(a) a loan to a small business; or
(b) moneys provided in financing a small business according to the syariah,
shall be indorsed by an authority approved by the Minister of Finance that the loan or the financing was made for the purposes of a small business.
Instrument relating to distinct matters
Except where express provision to the contrary is made by this Act or by any other written law—
(a) an instrument containing or relating to several distinct matters shall be separately and distinctly charged, as if it were a separate instrument, with duty in respect of each of the matters;
(b) an instrument made for any consideration in respect of which it is chargeable with ad valorem duty, and also for any further or other valuable consideration or considerations, shall be separately and distinctly charged, as if it were a separate instrument, with duty in respect of each of the considerations.
Mode of paying and denoting duty
(1) Subject to any rules made under paragraph 82(b), all duties with which any instruments are chargeable under this Act shall be paid, and payment shall be indicated on such instrument, by means of an adhesive stamp:
Provided that in the case of Sabah and Sarawak, the payment may be indicated by affixing an official receipt to such instrument.
(2) Where duty is required to be paid or indicated by means of an adhesive stamp, such stamp shall be a revenue stamp issued under this Act for the payment of stamp duty, which, at the time the duty is to be paid or indicated, is a valid revenue stamp.
(3) Stamps used for any of the instruments described under any of the articles in the First Schedule and not included in the Second Schedule shall, and stamps used for any of the instruments described under any of the articles in the Second Schedule may, be cancelled as follows: The instrument, or the paper on which it is proposed to be written, shall be taken to the office of the Collector and the stamp shall there be cancelled by having the words “Stamp Office” with the name of the district and the date written or printed partly on the stamp and partly on the paper to which the stamp is affixed.
(4) Stamps used for any of the instruments described under any of the articles in the Second Schedule shall, unless cancelled in the manner provided in the last preceding subsection, be cancelled
as follows: Whoever affixes any such stamp to any instrument chargeable with duty and which has been executed by any person shall, when affixing such stamp, cancel the same by writing or marking distinctly the date in ink either wholly on the stamp or partly on the stamp and partly on the paper to which the stamp is affixed, or in such other manner as the Minister of Finance may from time to time direct, so that the stamp cannot be used again, and whoever executes any instrument on any paper bearing a stamp shall at the time of execution, unless such stamp has been already cancelled in the manner aforesaid, cancel the same in the manner aforesaid so that it cannot be used again.
(5) Any instrument bearing a stamp which has not been so cancelled in the manner prescribed in this section that it cannot be used again shall, so far as such stamp is concerned, be deemed to be unstamped.
(6) Where two or more stamps are used to denote the stamp duty on any instrument, each and every stamp shall be cancelled in the manner prescribed in this section.
(7) In the case of instruments specified in the first column of the Second Schedule, the persons mentioned in the second column of the said Schedule are the persons required, subject to subsection
(3), to cancel the stamps.
(8) The Second Schedule may be amended by the Minister of Finance by order published in the Gazette.
Franking of certain instruments
(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, it shall be lawful for the Minister of Finance by licence under his hand to authorise any person to pay the duty on any of the instruments specified in the Fifth Schedule by means of a postal franking machine.
(1A) The Fifth Schedule may be amended by the Minister of Finance by Order published in the Gazette.
(2) A licence issued under this section shall be subject to such conditions as the Minister of Finance may in his absolute discretion impose.
(3) The issue of a licence under this section shall be notified by publication in the Gazette.
(4) Every impression indicating the payment of duty made by a postal franking machine used under licences under this section shall contain the true date of the making of such impression.
(5) The franking of any of the above-mentioned instruments by any duly authorized person as provided for in this section, if done in accordance with the terms of this section and of the licence, shall have the same effect as cancelling an adhesive stamp on the date and to the value indicated by such franking.
Cheques, contract notes or policies of insurance drawn on forms supplied by bankers, stockbrokers or insurers authorized in that behalf need not bear a stamp
(1) The Collector may, authorize any banker to compound for the payment of duty on unstamped cheques, any dealer to compound for the payment of duty on unstamped contract notes, and any insurer to compound for the payment of duty on unstamped policies of insurance, on the following conditions:
(a) that the said cheques, contract notes or policies of insurance be drawn or drawn up and issued on forms to be supplied or adopted by the said banker, dealer or insurer;
(b) that the said banker, dealer or insurer do levy upon or charge to the person to whom such cheques, contract notes or policies of insurance are issued the stamp duty mentioned in the First Schedule;
(c) that the said banker, the dealer or insurer do pay on the 1st day of each calendar month in each year to the Collector the amount due and collected thereon as duties on such unstamped cheques, contract notes or policies of insurance, and where he fails to pay the amount due on each date specified or within fourteen days immediately thereafter, he shall in addition to the amount due pay a further amount of two hundred ringgit or ten per centum of the amount due whichever is the greater and any amount due shall be recoverable as a debt due to the Government;
(d) that the said banker, dealer or insurer do deposit with the Collector, as security for the due payment to the Collector of any moneys payable under paragraph (c), such sum, if any, as the Minister of Finance may direct.
(2) Cheques, contract notes or policies of insurance drawn or drawn up and issued on forms supplied or adopted by such banker, dealer or insurer in accordance with this section shall be deemed to be duly stamped.
(3) Where a banker, dealer or insurer has been authorized to compound for the payment of duty on unstamped cheques, contract notes or policies of insurance as provided in subsection (1) the Collector or any person authorized by him in writing, may, at all reasonable times, inspect any stocks of unstamped cheques, contract notes or policies of insurance held by the banker, dealer or insurer and any books kept by him in connection with the issue of such cheques, contract notes or policies of insurance.
How instruments are to be written and stamped
(1) Every instrument written upon stamped paper is to be written in such manner, and every instrument partly or wholly written before being stamped shall be so stamped, that the stamp may appear on the face of the instrument and cannot be used for or applied to any other instrument written upon the same piece of paper.
(2) If more than one instrument be written upon the same piece of paper, every one of the instruments shall be separately and distinctly stamped with the duty with which it is chargeable.
Where duty chargeable depends on duty paid on another instrument
Where the duty with which an instrument is chargeable, or its exemption from duty, depends in any manner upon the duty actually paid in respect of another instrument, the payment of such last-mentioned duty shall, upon application to the Collector for that purpose and production of both the instruments, be denoted upon such first-mentioned instrument by indorsement under the hand of the Collector or in such other manner, if any, as may be prescribed by rules made under this Act.
Duplicate and counterparts
The duplicate or counterpart of an instrument chargeable with duty (except the counterpart of an instrument chargeable as a lease, such counterpart not being executed by or on behalf of any lessor or grantor) shall not be deemed duly stamped unless it is stamped as an original instrument, or unless it appears by a certificate indorsed thereon by the Collector that the full and proper duty has been paid upon the original instrument of which it is the duplicate or counterpart.
Valuation for Duty
Assessment of the value of property under transfer or settlement
Where an instrument is chargeable with duty under Item 32(a) of the First Schedule, the date for determining the market value of any property being transferred, settled or gifted shall be—
(a) in the case of a settlement or gift, the date of execution of the instrument of trust or settlement or gift;
(b) in the case of a transfer implementing a sale under a duly stamped agreement of sale and purchase, the date of execution of that agreement;
(c) in the case of a transfer of any property granted by a statutory body, a local authority or any co-operative society registered under any laws relating to co-operative societies, the date when the final terms of transfer had been communicated to the transferee, and in the case of subsequent resale of that property, the date of consent by the statutory body or local authority or the board of the co-operative society for that resale;
(d) in the case of a transfer under a duly stamped sale and purchase agreement where financial arrangements have been made in accordance with the Syariah, the date of execution of agreement; or
(e) in any other case, the date of execution of the instrument of transfer.
Currency and securities
(1) Where an instrument is chargeable with ad valorem duty in respect of—
(a) any money expressed in any currency other than ringgit;
(b) any stock or marketable or other security,
the duty shall be calculated on the value, on the day of the date of the instrument or on the day it is stamped if executed out of Malaysia, of the money in ringgit according to the current rate of exchange, or of the stock or security according to the average price thereof or, if there be no price, according to the value thereof.
(2) Where an instrument contains a statement of current rate of exchange or average price, as the case may require, and is stamped in accordance with such statement, it shall, so far as regards the subject-matter of such statement, be presumed, until the contrary is proved, to be duly stamped.
Instruments reserving interest
When interest is expressly made payable by the terms of an instrument, such instrument shall not be chargeable with duty higher than that with which it would have been chargeable if no mention of interest had been made therein.
Principal securities in syariah financing
Where it is shown that a principal or primary security secures the repayment of moneys provided under a scheme of financing made according to the syariah, duty chargeable thereon shall be calculated on the principal amount provided by the financier or financing body.
Source: Laws of Malaysia, Attorney General's Chambers of Malaysia (lom.agc.gov.my). Not a copy of the Gazette printed by the Government Printer (Interpretation Acts 1948 and 1967, s 61).
