SSM MBRS Mandate
The shift towards digital reporting for companies across Malaysia is underway. Up until now, public and private companies used to submit their filings to the Suruhanjaya Syarikat Malaysia (SSM) via print or over the counter. Starting in November 2018, the SSM has introduced an XBRL submission platform for qualifying companies filing with it.
Similar to the SEC mandate in the US, ESMA mandate in Europe, and the CIPC mandate in South Africa, the SSM requires all public and private entities listed with it to file their reports in the XBRL standard.
When does the mandate commence and which documents are to be filed?
This mandate was introduced in November 2018 by the SSM in a phase-wise manner. The MBRS system allows for the annual submission filing of:
- Financial Statements and Reports (FS);
- Annual Return (AR); and
- Exemption Applications (EA) are related to the FS and AR applications.
Here is a circular for further reference.
Who needs to comply with the mandate?
All companies incorporated in Malaysia (other than Banking, Financing, and Insurance companies regulated by Bank Negara Malaysia) that are required to submit their annual statutory Financial Statements to SSM, will now be required to digitally submit these Financial Statements in XBRL format.
The MBRS filing requirements are voluntary at this point in time and will be a mandate soon covering approximately 1.2 million companies.
Who Are Exempted from Filing?
Banking, Financing, and Insurance companies regulated by Bank Negara Malaysia are exempted from filing a full set of Financial Statements through MBRS and will instead lodge their Financial Statements over the counter at SSM offices.
How is the release scheduled to happen?
The release is scheduled to happen in phases to allow stakeholders to familiarize themselves with the submission of their documents to the SSM in XBRL/iXBRL. Here is a zone-wise distribution of the launch of MBRS since November 2018:-
Zone |
State |
Implementation Date |
| Middle Zone | Kuala Lumpur dan Selangor | November 2018 |
| South Zone | Negeri Sembilan, Melaka dan Johor | December 2018 |
| Eastern Zone | Pahang, Kelantan dan Terengganu | January 2019 |
| North Zone | Perlis, Perak, Kedah dan Pulau Pinang | February 2019 |
| Easy Malaysia | Sabah, Sarawak dan Labuan | March 2019 |
