The Royal Malaysia Customs Department (RMCD) has published a Guideline on the Voluntary Disclosure and Amnesty Program (VA Program) for indirect taxes, as well as an FAQ document for the program. The VA Program is available in respect of any duty/tax/levy/penalty/surcharge liabilities outstanding on or before 31 October 2021 under all Acts under the RMCD's administration, including:

• Customs Act 1967 - import duty, export duty;
• Sales Tax Act 1972 and 2018 - sales tax;
• Service Tax Act 1975 and 2018 - service tax including that on imported services and digital services;
• Excise Act 1976 - excise duty;
• Goods and Services Tax Act 2014 - goods and services tax;
• Tourism Tax Act 2017 - tourism tax; and
• Departure Levy Act 2019 – departure levy.

The program is divided into two phases, with Phase 1 running from 1 January 2022 to 30 June 2022 and Phase 2 running from 1 July 2022 to 30 September 2022. The benefits (incentives) of the program depend on the phase in which the relevant liabilities are paid. The benefits offered by the RMCD include:

• 100% remission (waiver) of penalty/surcharge where the duty/tax/levy involved is paid in full in Phase 1, and 50% remission where the duty/tax/levy involved are paid in full in Phase 2; and
• 90% remission of penalty/surcharge in Phase 1 and 80% in Phase 2 for the settlement of any penalty or surcharge outstanding on any BOD issued on or before 31 October 2021.

It is also provided that no audit will be conducted unless fraud is proven.

Further benefits are provided by the Ministry of Finance including:

• a reduction in tax/levy payable by 30% if paid in full in Phase 1 and 15% if paid in full in Phase 2 for taxpayers that are liable to register under a relevant Act but have not registered and did not collect tax/levy; and
• a reduction in tax/levy payable by 10% if paid in full in Phase 1 and 5% if paid in full in Phase 2 for, among others:
  • taxpayers that submitted nil returns incorrectly, failed to submit a return/declaration, under-declared and underpaid taxes, or charged tax on goods/services not subject to tax;
  • taxpayers that are liable to register under a relevant Act but have not registered, and have collected tax/levy but not paid to RMCD; and
  • taxpayers that are not liable to register under a relevant Act but and have collected tax/levy.

Additional benefits are also provided in specific cases.