KUCHING: The Ministry of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives (Medac) through SME Corp. Malaysia in collaboration with the Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia (LHDN) and the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) is providing a stamp duty exemption incentive to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) for merger and acquisition (M&A) activities.
Application for this incentive is eligible for SMEs that perform M&A activities in the period between July 1st 2020 until June 30th 2021.
This incentive was announced by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin under the National Economic Recovery Plan (Penjana) package in an effort to build the capacity of local companies and to support SMEs affected in this challenging current landscape.
Minister of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said the incentive catered for Malaysian-owned SME companies in all sectors including manufacturing, services, agriculture, as well as mining and quarrying.
“It is created to help build the capacity of local companies and encourage mergers among SME entities to form new companies or the acquisition of SME entities by other SME entities that may become bigger business entities, both by way of legal instruments and contracts,” he said in a statement on Tuesday (Sept 1).
He said the government considered this merger and acquisition effort among SMEs as helping to strengthen SME capacity and prevent the hollowing out of companies as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak by enhancing access to funds and valuable assets for new developments.
“In addition, it also provides an opportunity for new business entities to gain additional knowledge and skills and quality staff as well as to lower costs,” he said.
The stamp duty exemption on instruments for M&A activities includes the cost of Contracts or Agreements for the sale or lease of properties (including land, buildings, machinery and equipment); Instruments of Transfer and Memorandum of Understanding; Loan or Financing Agreement; and the First Lease Agreement.
The application form for this incentive can be downloaded from SME Corp. Malaysia’s website at www.smecorp.gov.my and applications must be submitted latest by July 31, 2021.
For further enquiries on the incentive, contact the MEDAC hotline at 1300-88-1020 or SME Corp. Malaysia’s info line at 1300-30-6000 or email to info@smecorp.gov.my.
