KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 31): The Limited Liability Partnerships (Amendment) Act 2024 comes into force in stages from Friday, Jan 31.

The Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) in a statement said the Act would be enforced through three phases, with the first phase coming into effect from Friday, involving provisions relating to beneficial owners, namely Sections 2, 3, 4 and 5, Subsection 11(a), and Section 13.

“In this phase, limited liability partnerships (LLPs) are given a transition period of three months, from Feb 1 to April 30, 2025, to implement the process of identifying beneficial owners at the LLP level, and record the information in the LLP beneficial owner register kept at the LLP's registered office,” the statement said.

The SSM announced that from May 1 to Oct 31 this year, LLPs are required to submit beneficial owner information to the SSM, and during that period, the SSM will waive late submission fees, rectification fees, and take no enforcement action.

After the expiry of that period, the relevant fees will be imposed, and enforcement action will be taken by the SSM.

The second phase of the Act is expected to be enforced on March 31, involving provisions related to procedures to support the implementation of sustainable LLP governance, namely Sections 8, 9 and 10, and Subsection 11(b).

“The third phase of the Limited Liability Partnerships (Amendment) Act 2024 involves provisions related to corporate rescue mechanisms, namely Sections 6, 7 and 12, which are expected to be enforced on Dec 31, 2025,” according to the SSM.

The Act, along with frequently asked questions (FAQs) that provide detailed information, can be accessed via the SSM’s official portal at www.ssm.com.my.

The Limited Liability Partnerships (Amendment) Bill 2024 was passed by the Dewan Rakyat on July 3, 2024, and the Dewan Negara on July 31, before receiving royal assent on Oct 9, and gazetted as the Limited Liability Partnerships (Amendment) Act 2024 on Oct 17.

It has two main objectives, namely supporting economic development and national well-being through the introduction of the corporate rescue mechanism legal framework, and supporting transparency in corporate governance through the framework relating to reporting of beneficial ownership in the Limited Liability Partnerships Act 2012.

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