Does a dormant company still need accounts and filings?
Yes. A dormant company must still keep records, prepare financial statements, lodge them and the annual return with SSM, and file tax returns. It may be exempt from audit under SSM Practice Directive 10/2024. Consider striking off if it has no future.
A company is generally considered dormant when it has no accounting transactions during the period, apart from limited items such as filing fees. Dormancy does not suspend its legal existence.
Still required
- Accounting records under section 245, even if they show no activity
- Financial statements, a directors' report and directors' statements
- Lodging with SSM and the annual return, on time
- Tax filing with LHDN as long as the company is registered for tax
- Maintaining the registered office and company secretary
Possible relief
- Under SSM Practice Directive 10/2024, a company dormant since incorporation, or dormant in both the current and the immediately preceding financial year, remains exempt from audit. Dormant means it carries on no business and has no accounting transaction, ignoring payments the law requires it to make and the cost of complying
- Dormant public companies, subsidiaries of public companies and foreign companies are not exempt
- In the annual return, state the nature of business as registered; the directors' report can say the company carried on no business during the year
Costs of staying dormant
Company secretary, SSM fees and accounting fees continue yearly, so a company with no purpose is expensive to hold.
Options
- Keep it, with minimal compliance
- Strike it off or wind up when it is clean of liabilities
- Reactivate it, bringing the books up to date first
Compare the yearly cost against the value of keeping the company name or licence.
Legal basis
- Companies Act 2016, s.245
- SSM Practice Directive 10/2024, paras 10-12
Sources
Applies to 2026 · Last reviewed 29 October 2026
General information for business owners, not legal, tax or professional advice. Rules change, so check the sources or ask a licensed professional before you act.
Related questions
- How long must a Malaysian company keep its accounting records?A company must keep accounting records for seven years after the transactions they record were completed. For tax, documents must be kept for seven years from the end of the relevant year of assessment. Use whichever period ends later.
- How soon must transactions be recorded in the books?Under section 245 of the Companies Act 2016, entries must be made in the accounting records within 60 days after the transaction is completed. Leaving the books for a full year-end rush is therefore not compliant.
- How do I choose my company's financial year end?You choose it, usually when you incorporate, and it is not fixed to 31 December. Pick a date that suits your business cycle and your accountant's workload; every later deadline for financial statements and filings is counted from it.
- Can a company change its financial year end, and how?Yes. The Companies Act 2016 does not state a maximum length for a financial year or how often it can change. But a new year end that pushes the circulation or lodgement date later needs an extension of time from SSM, applied for before the original deadline. A subsidiary's year end must also stay in line with its Malaysian holding company's.
- What do a company's financial statements contain?A company's financial statements normally include a statement of financial position, a statement of profit or loss and other comprehensive income, a statement of changes in equity, a statement of cash flows and notes with accounting policies. The set must give a true and fair view.