Malaysia: Taxpayer bank account information in garnishments
Finance Bill 2021 includes a provision to allow the Director General of the MIRB to have access to or to request a taxpayer’s bank account information
Director General of the MIRB can access or request a taxpayer’s bank account information
The Dewan Rakyat on 15 December 2021 passed the Finance Bill 2021 that includes a provision to allow the Director General of the Malaysia Inland Revenue Board (MIRB) to have access to or to request a taxpayer’s bank account information from financial institutions in garnishment actions.
The MIRB can only exercise this authority when making an application to a court for a garnishee order (i.e., an action for the recovery of taxes due and payable by a taxpayer to the government). The MIRB is not permitted to obtain the taxpayers bank account information for any other purposes.
The measure prohibits financial institutions from alerting or informing the taxpayer of the MIRB’s request for bank account information. Financial institutions that do not comply with the request for access to a taxpayer’s bank account information may be subject to civil penalties or incarceration.
Read a December 2021 report prepared by the KPMG member firm in Malaysia
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