Labuan Trusts (Amendment) Regulations 2022 and three other regulations to come into effect on 1 January 2023

20 December 2022

The Labuan Trusts (Amendment) Regulations 2022 were gazetted on 19 October 2022 and the Labuan Companies (Amendment) Regulations 2022, Labuan Foundations (Amendment) Regulations 2022 and Labuan Islamic Financial Services and Securities (Amendment) Regulations 2022 were gazetted on 28 October 2022 (collectively, “2022 Regulations”). The 2022 Regulations will come into effect on 1 January 2023.

The 2022 Regulations amend the respective principal regulations (collectively, “2010 Regulations”) as follows:

  • The Third Schedules in each of the 2010 Regulations (“Previous Third Schedules”) have been amended (“New Third Schedules”).
  • All references to Ringgit Malaysia in the New Third Schedules have been removed, in contrast to the Previous Third Schedules, which allowed for the payment of fees in both US Dollars and Ringgit Malaysia.
  • The New Third Schedule in the Labuan Companies (Amendment) Regulations 2022 combines Items 45 and 46 in the Previous Third Schedule of the Labuan Companies Regulations 2010 into one Item 45, which provides for the payment of fees for a certified copy or certified extract of any document in the custody of the Labuan Financial Services Authority.
  • The Labuan Islamic Financial Services and Securities (Amendment) Regulations 2022 amend the Labuan Islamic Financial Services and Securities Regulations 2010, inter alia, as follows:
    • Under Item 5(e)(iv), paragraphs (A) and (B) of the New Third Schedule, the annual licence fee payable by a licensee carrying on Islamic leasing business upon approval of a single or subsequent transaction with a resident, is expanded to include transactions with non-residents. Accordingly, Item 5(e)(iv), paragraph (C) of the Previous Third Schedule which prescribes that no annual licence fee is payable for carrying on Islamic leasing business transacted with a non-resident, has been deleted.
    • The New Third Schedule removes Item 5(f)(iii) of the Previous Third Schedule, which prescribes the annual licence fee payable by a Labuan takaful operator carrying on family and general takaful business.
    • The New Third Schedule amends Item 5(j)(ii) and (j)(iv) of the Previous Third Schedule by specifying the types of business carried on within each registered cells of a Labuan protected cell company, namely the general takaful business or Labuan captive takaful business, and the business of Islamic mutual funds respectively.