Extension 15 days for e-filing confirmation from LHDN

The great majority of people are wary and very careful with their dealings with Income Tax Department (Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia) or LHDN (Lembaga Hasil Dalam Negara) since they have vast powers and likely to impose heavy penalties for non-compliance.

The penalty for filing and paying late for this year has been increased to 20 to 30% of the tax payable which is a hefty sum. Thus the importance of filing and paying in time.

The dateline for filing our income tax returns as well as to pay the taxes is normally the end of April. But there has been news floating around that the dateline is extended by 15 days (May 15) for 2012 if we do e-filing (filing online).

Being wary of LHDN, I have been making enquiries at their offices but even the officers there are unsure and need to ask each other when asked about the truth of the 15 days extension plus none were prepared to stamp and countersign the letter to confirm the extension.

As such I did some searching online and found this confirmation at "letter to Star Publications"

I append below the relevant section:

6. Nonetheless, the implementation of the new rates does not make LHDN heartless. We understand that circumstances arise that prevent taxpayers from submitting their returns within the tiling
period. In such situations, they need only to apply for an extension of time to comply with the tax filing deadline. There is also an avenue to appeal for defaulters and with reasonable cause, LHDN will waive the penalty. For the first time in l.HDN's history, top management granted an extension to the deadline for filing returns to 15 days tor individuals as well as companies but only if the taxpayer opts for filing online, through our e-filing facility. As sure as the sun rises from the east every morning, there will be the last-minute rush but e-Hlers need not worry because, our upgraded system has the capacity to accept the surge as proven in previous years.

So folks, if for some reasons we are unable to file by the end of this month, we can have peace of mind that we still have a choice to file by 15 May through e-filing.