# Applying for an Extension of Time from SSM

> How an extension of time works under the Companies Act 2016, the lead times Practice Note 3/2018 imposes, and the one rule that kills most applications.

- Category: company-secretary
- Language: en
- Status: published
- Updated: 2026-07-20
- Canonical: https://negaraku.md/en/company-secretary/extension-of-time-ssm

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Most rejected extension applications are not rejected on the merits. They are
rejected because they arrived too late to be considered at all.

The rule is short and it is absolute. Section 259(2) of the Companies Act 2016
gives the Registrar power to extend the financial statement periods only "if an
application for extension is made **before the expiry** of the period referred
to in paragraph 1(a) or (b)". There is no discretion to revive a period that has
already lapsed. Once the deadline passes, you are not late-with-an-application —
you are simply late.

## Where the power comes from

Three provisions of the Companies Act 2016 create extension powers, and Practice
Note 3/2018 explains how SSM applies all three:

| Provision | What it extends |
| --- | --- |
| s.609(2) | Any prescribed lodgement timeline under the Act, on application and payment of fees. The Registrar may impose terms and conditions. |
| s.259(2) | The period to lodge financial statements and reports, and by extension the circulation period feeding it. |
| s.340(4) | The periods for holding a public company's annual general meeting. |

Where a document must be lodged but the Act prescribes no timeframe, s.609(1)
applies. Practice Directive 1/2017 fills the same gap administratively: if no
timeframe is provided, the time to lodge is 30 days from when the requirement
arises.

## The lead times — this is the operative rule

"Before the deadline" is the statutory minimum. Practice Note 3/2018 imposes
something stricter: a lead time, so the Registrar has time to consider the
application.

**General rule (paragraph 8).** The application must be received by the
Registrar **at least seven days before the end of the event** to which the
document relates. Any subsequent extension must also be made at least seven days
before the last day of the extended period.

**Short-period documents (paragraph 9).** Where the prescribed lodgement period
is seven days or less, the application must be received **at least three days
before** the end of the relevant event.

**Private company, financial statements (paragraphs 13 and 14).**

| At risk | Deadline for the application |
| --- | --- |
| Circulation under s.258(1)(a) | At least 7 days before the last day of the circulation period |
| Lodgement under s.259(1)(a) | At least 7 days before the last day of the lodgement period |

**Public company, financial statements (paragraphs 21 and 22).**

| At risk | Deadline for the application |
| --- | --- |
| Circulation under s.258(1)(b) | At least 30 days before the last day to hold the AGM |
| Lodgement under s.259(1)(b) | At least 30 days before the last day to hold the AGM |

Note that both public-company lead times run from the **AGM date**, not from the
lodgement date. A public company that waits until the AGM has happened to
realise it cannot lodge in 30 days has already missed the window to ask.

## A worked example

Take a private company with a financial year end of **31 December 2025**.

- Circulation deadline under s.258(1)(a): **30 June 2026**
- Application for an extension of the circulation period must reach SSM by
  **23 June 2026** — seven days before

Suppose the extension is granted and circulation happens on 31 August 2026. The
lodgement deadline becomes 30 September 2026, and an application to extend
*that* would have to reach SSM by **23 September 2026**.

The pattern repeats at every step: seven days before whichever period you are
about to breach.

## Cost

Practice Note 3/2018 sets the fee at **RM100 for each application**, payable on
submission. Where a company that already has an extension still cannot lodge in
time, **a further RM100** is payable on the subsequent application. SSM's Table
of Fees records the same RM100 for an application under s.259 and RM100 for an
application to extend the time to hold an AGM under s.340.

## What an extension is worth

Paragraph 7 of Practice Note 3/2018 is the reason to bother: a document lodged
with the Registrar after the due date "shall be deemed to be lodged within the
prescribed period if it is lodged within the approved extended period of time."

That is not a discount on the penalty. It is a deeming provision — the lateness
disappears. Compare that with the alternative, where the late lodgement penalty
under Practice Directive 1/2017 applies and, more seriously, the s.259(3)
offence exposes every officer to a fine of up to RM50,000 plus up to RM1,000 for
each day the offence continues.

Practice Note 3/2018 does not state a maximum extension period. The Registrar
extends "to such period as specified in the notice of extension", as he
considers fit.

## Who applies

The company secretary. SSM stated the point directly in its own extension of
time guidance: the application "should only be made by the company secretary",
not by a director.

This is consistent with everything else in the lodgement chain. Under
[MBRS 2.0](/en/company-secretary/mbrs-2), submission requires a lodger holding
an active practising certificate under s.241. If the secretary's certificate has
lapsed, the company has no route to apply — which is a reason to check it long
before the seven-day mark.

## Reasons SSM recognises

SSM's published guidance on extension applications lists the kinds of process
that justify one:

- preparation of the financial statements
- preparation of the directors' report
- the audit process and preparation of the auditor's report
- circulation of financial statements to shareholders
- tabling of financial statements at the AGM

An unfinished audit is a recognised ground. Forgetting the deadline is not.

## Changing your financial year end

This is the extension case people miss entirely, because it does not feel like a
deadline problem.

SSM's Part M FAQ addresses it: where a company changes its financial year end
and the **new** circulation or lodgement due date falls **later** than the
original, the company must apply for an extension — before the original due date
expires, in accordance with Practice Note 3/2018.

Worked through in SSM's own examples:

- Original FYE 30 June 2019, original circulation due 31 December 2019. New FYE
  31 March 2019 (a nine-month period), new circulation due 30 September 2019 —
  **earlier**, so no extension needed.
- Original FYE 30 June 2019, original circulation due 31 December 2019. New FYE
  30 September 2019 (a fifteen-month period), new circulation due 31 March 2020 —
  **later**, so an extension is required.

Shortening a financial year is administratively free. Lengthening it is not.

## Common mistakes

- **Applying after the deadline.** The most common failure and the one that
  cannot be fixed. Section 259(2) has no retrospective operation.
- **Applying on the last day.** Meeting the statutory rule but breaching the
  seven-day lead time in Practice Note 3/2018.
- **A public company timing the application from the lodgement deadline.** Both
  public-company lead times run from the last day to hold the AGM.
- **Forgetting the second application.** A subsequent extension needs its own
  application, seven days before the extended period ends, and its own RM100.
- **Letting a director submit it.** SSM requires the company secretary.
- **Extending a financial year end without applying.** If the new due date is
  later than the old one, an extension is mandatory.
- **Assuming an extension covers everything.** An extension of the circulation
  period does not automatically extend the lodgement period; they are separate
  applications addressed in separate paragraphs of Practice Note 3/2018.

## What's next

Build the seven-day lead time into the audit timetable rather than treating it
as a fallback. If the extension window has already closed, the exposure shifts
to the late lodgement penalty schedule and the officer-level offence — work out
what that costs before deciding how long to keep waiting for the auditor.

## Sources

- Companies Act 2016: Practice Note No. 3/2018 — Clarification on Application for Extension of Time — https://www.ssm.com.my/Pages/Legal_Framework/PDF%20Tab%205/pn_ss_609_2592_3404_eot.pdf (SSM)
- Companies Act 2016 (Act 777), updated text as at 1 August 2022 — sections 259, 340 and 609 — https://www.ssm.com.my/Pages/Legal_Framework/Document/Companies%20Act%202016_Akta%20777_BI%20(1.8.2022).pdf (SSM)
- Part M — Annual Returns and Financial Reporting (SSM FAQ) — https://www.ssm.com.my/Pages/Legal_Framework/Document/PART%20M.pdf (SSM)
- Table of Fees — Registration of Company (ROC) — https://www.ssm.com.my/Pages/Services/Registration-of-Company-(ROC)/Table-of-Fees.aspx (SSM)

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