The Myanmar Internal Revenue Department (“IRD”) recently issued a Letter confirming changes to the tax year of reporting for cooperatives and private enterprises that will take effect from 1 October 2019. This announcement brings the financial year into line with the State’s new budget year as mentioned in the 2018-2019 Union Taxation Law. Previously, only state-owned enterprises and certain banks and financial institutions adopted this new financial year starting in October of last year.
Through this Letter, the IRD confirms that:
- There will be a six month period (transition period) from 1 April 2019 – 30 September 2019 (“FY 2019”); and
- A new financial year will commence starting 1 October 2019 to 30 September 2020 (“FY 2019-2020”).
The IRD also clarified the assessment year during the transition period. This assessment year will be used by the IRD to determine total tax payments made by the taxpayer for the relevant period. Thus, for the period ending 31 March 2019 (“FY 2018-2019”), advance tax payments made will form part of the assessment year 2019. Meanwhile, for FY 2019 or the transition year, any advance tax payments will form part of the assessment year 2019-2020.
However, the IRD Letter makes no mention of whether this change to the financial year also applies to individuals or to personal income tax, and further clarification will be needed in this regard.
DFDL Contacts
Jack Sheehan
Partner & Head of Regional Tax Practice
jack.sheehan@dfdl.com
Diberjohn Balinas
Senior Tax Manager, Myanmar
diberjohn.balinas@dfdl.com
The information provided in this email is for information purposes only, and is not intended to constitute legal advice. Legal advice should be obtained from qualified legal counsel for all specific situations.
