The government of Malaysia has recently gazetted stamp duty exemption and remission orders to benefit the homebuyers, namely Stamp Duty (Exemption) Order 2023 (P.U.(A) 176, Stamp Duty (Exemption) (No.2) Order 2023 (P.U.(A) 177, Stamp Duty (Remission) Order 2023 (P.U.(A) 179 and Stamp Duty (Remission) (No.2) Order 2023 (P.U.(A) 180.

The abovementioned stamp duty exemption and remission are applicable on:-

1. i) the ad valorem stamp duty on the loan agreement; and
2. ii) the instruments of transfer.
3. .

Residential property not more than RM500,000.00

Ad valorem stamp duty on loan agreement and instruments of transfer will be exempted.

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Residential property more than RM500,000.00 but not more than RM1,000,000.00

75% of the ad valorem stamp duty on loan agreement and instruments of transfer will be remitted.

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Conditions to be fulfilled

1. i) Sale and purchase agreement of the residential property (“SPA”) is contracted between an individual and a property developer;
2. ii) An ‘individual’ refers to a Malaysian citizen or co-purchasers of a property who are Malaysian citizens and have never owned any residential property (including by way or inheritance or gift);
3. iii) The property falls within the definition of ‘residential property’ as outlined in the gazette, which includes:-
   1. a) a house;
   2. b) a condominium unit; and
   3. c) an apartment or flat solely used as a dwelling house (including a service apartment and a small office home office (SOHO) for which the property developer has obtained approval for Housing Developers’ License and Advertising and Sales Permit under the Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Act 1966 [Act 118], Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Enactment 1978 [Sabah No. 24 of 1978] or Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Ordinance 2013 Sarawak [ 69];
4. iv) SPA is executed on or after 01 June 2022 but not later than 31 December 2023, and is stamped not later than 31 January 2024; and
5. v) The SPA purchase price is a price after a minimum discount of 10% from the original price offered by the property developer except for residential property subject to controlled pricing with the statutory declaration from the property developer confirming the same.
6. .

The exemption and remission details are summarized in the table as follows:

Please refer to Stamp Duty (Exemption) Order 2023 [P.U.(A) 176], Stamp Duty (Exemption) (No. 2) Order 2023 [P.U.(A) 177, Stamp Duty (Remission) Order 2023 [P.U.(A) 179] and Stamp Duty (Remission) (No. 2) Order 2023 [P.U.(A) 180] for further information regarding the stamp duty exemption or remission.

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This article is intended to be informative and not intended to be nor should be relied upon as a substitute for legal or any other professional advice.

About the authors

Hee Sue Ann
Associate
Real Estate, Banking & Finance
Halim Hong & Quek
sahee@hhq.com.my

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Teoh Chee Jean
Associate
Real Estate
Halim Hong & Quek
cjteoh@hhq.com.my