This is not the first time Malaysia’s tax authority, the Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia (IRBM), has adjusted the mandate timeline and thresholds. The latest measures substantially ease the burden on smaller businesses and even exempt the smallest companies altogether.
New minimum exemption threshold
Following Malaysian government announcement, the Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia (IRBM) updated on December 7th, 2025 its general e-invoice guidelines [↗︎], raising the minimum exemption threshold to RM 1 million (~200,000€).
Consequently, taxpayers with an annual turnover or revenue below this amount are now exempt from the obligation to issue e-Invoices.
Impact on the e-Invoice Implementation Timeline: As a result, the “5th wave” of implementation, previously scheduled for July 1st, 2026, for companies exceeding RM1 million (~€250,000), has been abolished and remains only for new businesses creating on 2026.
Extension of the relaxation period for small enterprises
The relaxation period is designed to ensure a smooth transition and effective implementation of e-invoicing by significantly reducing the mandate requirements. Initially, the Malaysian Government agreed to provide taxpayers with a six-month “interim relaxation period” starting from their respective mandatory go-live dates.
In response to the “high cost of implementation” noted by the Prime Minister in early 2026, the Malaysian government has decided to extend the grace period by an additional six months, ensuring no penalties are imposed during this time. This update was officially confirmed in the “specific” e-invoice guidelines [↗︎] published by the IRBM on January 5th, 2026.
Consequently, and further to the initial six-month extension granted early 2025, small enterprises, for whom e-invoicing has become mandatory on January 1st 2026, now benefit from an extended “interim relaxation period” until December 31st, 2026.
E-invoicing implementation timeline
Based on the recent key measures taken, the Malaysian’s e-invoice implementation timeline is updated as follows:
- August 1, 2024: mandatory for companies exceeding RM 100 million turnover (~20M€)
- January 1, 2025: mandatory for companies exceeding RM 25 million turnover (~5M€)
- July 1, 2025: mandatory for companies exceeding RM 5 million (~1M€)
- January 1, 2026: mandatory for companies exceeding RM 1 million (~200,000€)
- July 1, 2026: mandatory for new companies commencing from year 2026 onwards
The new guidance published on December 2025 also provides that if the first year’s turnover is below RM1,000,000, e-invoice implementation date becomes January 1 in the second year after the year in which the RM1 million threshold is reached.
