Malaysia proposes RM10 stamp-duty treatment for P2P financing

A remission, not an extension of full exemption

Appendix 21 of the Budget 2027 Tax Measures proposes the treatment for agreements executed from 1 January 2027 to 31 December 2030. The distinction matters: the Budget describes the existing 2022–2026 treatment as a 100% exemption, whereas the proposed remission would remove only duty exceeding RM10. It is not an announcement that the full exemption continues unchanged for another four years.^[1]

The existing instrument is narrowly defined

The underlying Stamp Duty (Exemption) (No. 17) Order 2021, P.U.(A) 487/2021, was made under subsection 80(1) of the Stamp Act 1949. Its paragraph 3 exempts investment notes or Islamic investment notes for P2P financing executed by micro, small or medium enterprises, or between those enterprises and investors or persons authorised to act for investors. The platform must be operated by an operator registered with the Securities Commission Malaysia, and the note must be executed between 1 January 2022 and 31 December 2026.^[2]

Paragraph 2 of that Order links the platform to the Commission’s Guidelines on Recognized Markets and the investment-note terms to P.U.(A) 126/2016. Those references mean that a financing document does not qualify merely because the parties describe it as peer-to-peer lending. The Order’s specified instrument, enterprise, operator and execution-date conditions remain important to the existing relief.^[2]

Implications for financing decisions

For businesses and group treasury teams considering Malaysian MSME financing, the proposal is therefore a targeted transaction-cost measure rather than an income-tax exemption for investment returns. The announced window concerns when the financing agreement is executed, not when capital is repaid. Appendix 21 is a proposal, not the operative instrument granting 2027 relief: its final eligibility and implementation terms must be checked before applying the remission. It should not be assumed to cover every related security or financing document, nor to extend the 2021 Order’s full exemption beyond its stated period.^[1][2]