Tax Audit and Investigation

In a move to enhance its enforcement strategy, the Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia (“IRBM”) has initiated collaborations with other government agencies and has launched various tax collection operations. Many companies have received notices of additional assessments. Some individuals found that they were on the travel ban list whilst others found their bank accounts garnished. It is evident that the IRBM has significantly intensified activities on tax audits and back-duty investigations into taxpayers’ financial affairs. These activities are expected to be fortified to ensure that taxpayers are paying their taxes responsibly under the self-assessment tax regime.

Download the Tax Audit and investigation brochure here.

How we can assist your organisation

At Deloitte, our professionals are highly experienced in identifying potential areas of dispute, managing tax audits and tax investigations and resolving tax disputes. Our knowledge and experience in this specialised area, acquired through assisting many of our clients in reaching an amicable resolution over the years, ensure that we duly understand the key nuances of tax audits and tax investigations.

PRE

(Pre-audit action)

Being prepared is key. Before a case is selected for tax audit, we conduct a company or individual tax health check by ascertaining potential material tax issues, assessing the extent of tax risks, identifying remedial actions and defence approaches, seeking technical clarification from the tax policy department and engaging with the IRBM for reduced penalty under the voluntary disclosure avenue.

We take your team through a personalised session to understand the steps in maintaining proper documentation, and the do’s and don’ts of tax audit and investigation. For individual tax audits, we carry out a professional evaluation to analyse the client’s strengths and weaknesses of personal capital and expenditure statement and subsequently, identify the necessary remedial actions.

DURING

(Tax audit and tax investigation management)

Being responsive is key. Once a case is selected for tax audit or tax investigation, we can assist to prepare and guide you through the tax audit or tax investigation process, review and assess the IRBM’s findings, evaluate the strength of your positions and explore your options, formulate an appropriate response to the IRBM and engage an appropriate response to the IRBM.

(Appeal)

Being proactive is key. Deloitte has a dedicated tax dispute resolution team, ready to assist you and to journey with you. Our team is comprised of experienced tax consultants with legal backgrounds, ensuring you have the best of both worlds! Even if a resolution cannot be agreed upon at the tax audit or tax investigation stage, a decision was made to escalate the case to the next level, where we can assist to prepare the Form Q, formulate the next resolution approach and to manage the case with a view to reach an amicable resolution before hearing.

POST

(Post audit / investigation)

Being attentive is key. Though the tax audit and investigation has been completed, it does not end here. We will proceed with carrying out a post-mortem to gather and evaluate critical feedback from the investigation. We will also start to plan for the way forward, analysing every aspect of the investigation to formulate appropriate, corrective actions for you.