Dear Members of the Perak Bar and Pupils in Chamber,

The Perak Bar Committee & members of the Conveyancing Sub Committee had a meaningful meeting on 23.7.2020 with Tuan Pengarah, LHDN Ipoh branch & his officers from Stamp Duty and CKHT divisions and the several issues raised and discussed are set out below.

1. LHDN Perak are strictly enforcing their online services via E-Bayaran ( STAMPS) for members to adhere to- stamping at counters for any document is strictly discouraged ;

2. Although Notis Taksiran states 30 days for online payment of stamp duty, the system does not accept payments made on the 29th and 30th day. – members are advised that LHDN will accept over the counter stamping at their office for this instance only;

3. For now, ad valorem stamp duty is imposed in a situation where a beneficiary renounces his entitlement under the deceased’s estate & his share then devolves to the remaining beneficiaries- it was brought to the attention of the officers concerned that there is a difference when a party renounces his entitlement and in a case of acquisition/ disposal. We were informed that this is a matter which will have to be looked into at the Head Office of LHDN.

4. Documents that have to be provided when seeking a refund of stamp duty paid on the Form 14A in cases where the sale / transaction is aborted- members are advised to take note of Section 57 of the Stamp Act 1949 .In the case of a sale & purchase which has been terminated due to a breach of the agreement, it was unlikely that both parties would come together to sign such a document & LHDN was asked to consider accepting alternate documentation/ proof of such termination.Members are advised to provide either a Statutory Declaration by the client stating details of the termination or providing a copy of the solicitor’s letter of termination issued to the defaulting party.This is in addition to providing the other relevant documents ie S&P Agreement, Form 14A as per the current requirement.

5. Enquiries regarding whether clients are first time purchasers for purposes of stamp duty remission, can be made directly via email to the relevant officers ie Pn Siti Haliza( sitishaliza@hasil.gov.my )and En Yuzman(yuzman@hasil.gov.my);

6. Members are to take note of the exemptions relating to Stamp Duty recently gazetted by the Federal Govt effective 1.6.2020;

7. For judicial auction cases where the Bank acts as a nominee of the Borrower/ Chargor, when executing the CKHT Forms, the relevant Notis Taksiran will be issued by LHDN to the nominee Bank and the solicitor acting for the Bank, for their information only. LHDN clarified that it did not mean that the Bank was being charged with payment of the tax;

8. To obtain details of income tax references for clients ( Vendor/ Purchaser) and the particular branch where the client’s file is maintained , members may liaise via email with the relevant officers ie En Ahmad Tarmizi (ahmadtarmizi@hasil.gov.my ) & Puan Sarina (sarina.d@hasil.gov.my);

9. When filing CKHT 2A Form, kindly ensure that a copy of the S&P Agreement is attached, otherwise will be deemed incomplete by LHDN;

10. Members are to ensure that the CKHT forms are filed at the relevant branches to avoid delay in processing as filing at the incorrect branch would in turn result in the said branch having to forward to the actual branch and this would inevitably delay issuance of the Notis Taksiran;

11. (a)Members can forward the CKHT 502 Form( together with the requisite payment) for checking / verification to the relevant branch and then to be forwarded to the unit resitan- receipt will be issued in favour of the Vendor & sent directly to same- this is because LHDN will base the issuance of the receipts on the information contained in the relevant Form;
(b) Members are to take note of Part 2 Schedule 5 and Part 3 Schedule 5 when remitting payment & filing CKHT 502 for acquisition in estate matters ( 3% for citizens & 7% for non citizens);

12. For estate matters, the market value of the property is taken as at the date of demise by the Testator/ deceased for purposes of determining acquisition price of the property;
Members are advised to be guided by the above .

Thank you.

KAMALA MAHLINI A/P P JEGANATHAN
Chairperson
Conveyancing Practice Committee