An annual return is a statutory document every company registered in Malaysia must lodge with SSM once a year, confirming key company details — registered office, directors, shareholders and share capital — as at a given date. It is a compliance filing, not a financial statement, and is required whether or not the company traded that year.
- Mandatory for every company, including dormant ones
- Lodged with SSM, typically within a set number of days after the anniversary of incorporation
- Confirms company particulars — it is not the same as filing financial statements
- Late lodgement can result in penalties or enforcement action by SSM
Who this applies to: Company directors, company secretaries and anyone responsible for corporate compliance.
On this page
Bahasa Malaysia: Pemulangan Tahunan · English: Annual Return · 中文: 常年申报表
An annual return is a statutory snapshot of a company’s key particulars — registered office, directors, shareholders, share capital and similar details — filed with SSM once a year under the Companies Act 2016. It is separate from a company’s financial statements, though both are typically handled by the company secretary around the same compliance cycle.
In practice
Every company incorporated in Malaysia must lodge an annual return, whether or not it has started trading, and whether or not it made a profit. The return is normally due within a fixed number of days after the anniversary of the company’s incorporation. Missing the deadline can expose the company and its officers to compounds or other enforcement action by SSM, and persistently non-compliant companies risk being struck off the register. Because the return simply confirms company details rather than reporting financial performance, it is usually one of the simpler recurring filings — but it is also one of the easiest to overlook once the excitement of incorporation has passed.
Related terms
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Change history
| Version | Date | Change | By |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01.00 | 10 Jul 2026 | Approved and published. | — |