KUALA LUMPUR (March 11): The Finance Ministry presented the Unclaimed Moneys (Amendment) Bill 2024 for the first reading in Dewan Rakyat on Monday, paving the way for the government to classify unclaimed money as revenue after 10 years.

The Bill was tabled by Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan and the second reading is scheduled during the ongoing session and will be concluded on March 27.

A notable proposed amendment, Section 11(2) of the Act, seeks to enable the transfer of unclaimed money to the Consolidated Revenue Account after 10 years from the date the funds were credited to the Consolidated Trust Account.

Under the existing law, unclaimed money previously held by companies and lodged with the registrar was to be credited to the Consolidated Trust Account. After 15 years, the unclaimed money under the trust account would be transferred to the Consolidated Revenue Account.

Another revision involves the definition of unclaimed money, introducing a new Section 2A. This change specifies that unclaimed moneys are to be paid to the owner after becoming payable within two years, allowing companies and firms to maintain data related to unclaimed moneys.

The current definition in Section 8 considers money as unclaimed if it remains unpaid for a period not less than one year.

Other notable proposed amendments include a new Section 4A, empowering the minister to appoint any government officer as the registrar of unclaimed moneys, along with appointing one or more government officers as deputy registrars and assistant registrars of unclaimed moneys.