Act · 2022 Revised Edition
Record Keeping (Business) Act
Keeping records for businessesIn plain English
Not legal adviceThe Record Keeping (Business) Act deals with the keeping of records for businesses. The minister may, with the approval of the Sultan, exempt any person or class of persons from all or any of the provisions of the Act. An exemption is made by an order published in the gazette and may come with conditions the minister sets.
Summary · Drafted with AI, checked against the official text on 30 Sep 2026.
Official textFrom Attorney General's Chambers, unchanged
s 1Citation
This Act may be cited as the Record Keeping (Business) Act.
s 2Non-derogation
The provisions of this Act are in addition to and not in derogation of any provision of any other written law.
s 3Interpretation
In this Act, unless the context otherwise require —
“business” includes every form of trade, commerce, craftsmanship, calling, profession, vocation and any activity carried on for the purposes of gain;
“Competent Authority” means the Competent Authority appointed under section 4;
“Minister” means the Minister of Finance and Economy.
s 4Competent Authority
The Minister shall appoint such person as he thinks fit to be the
Competent Authority responsible for the general administration and supervision of all matters to which this Act relates.
Every person carrying on or exercising any business shall —
keep and maintain records of every transaction carried out in respect of the business; and
issue a printed receipt serially numbered for every sum received in respect of goods sold or services performed in the course of or in connection with such business and shall retain a duplicate of every such receipt.
Record Keeping (Business)
Such person shall retain the records for a period of at least 5 years from the date the transaction takes place on or after the commencement of this Act.
Where a machine is used for recording sales, a receipt may be dispensed with if —
such machine automatically records all sales made; and
the total of all sales made in each day is transferred at the end of the day to a record of sales.
Any person who without reasonable excuse fails to comply with subsection (1) is guilty of an offence.
In this section, “records” includes —
books of account recording receipts, payments, income and expenditure;
invoices, vouchers, receipts and such other documents as in the opinion of the Competent Authority are necessary to verify the entries in any books of account; and
any records relating to any business.
s 6Language of records
The records of transactions referred to in section 5 shall be in the
Malay or English language.
The Competent Authority or any officer authorised by the
Competent Authority in writing in that behalf may —
by notice in writing to any person carrying on or exercising any business; or
by notice published in the Gazette in respect of any class or description of any such person, require such person or such class or description to submit to the Competent
Authority within such time as may be specified in the notice, a record in
Record Keeping (Business)
such form as may be approved by the Competent Authority, giving the particulars and information specified in the notice.
No person shall be bound to furnish any particulars or information other than such as are accessible to him in the course of or derivable from any business in the conduct or supervision of which he is engaged.
The Competent Authority may waive all or any of the provisions of subsection (1) in respect of any person, class or description of persons, or particulars and information.
Any person who fails to comply with the requirement imposed by subsection (1) is guilty of an offence.
For the purposes of obtaining full information in respect of any records, the Competent Authority or any officer authorised by the Competent
Authority in writing in that behalf may by notice in writing to any person carrying on or exercising any business require such person within such time as may be specified in the notice, to deliver to the Competent Authority any record specified in the notice and in addition or alternatively require such person to attend personally before him and to produce for examination any books, documents, accounts and records which the Competent Authority may deem necessary.
Such requisition may specify —
the form in which the particulars and information are to be furnished;
the particulars and information to be furnished;
the place or manner at which or in which the particulars and information are to be delivered.
The Competent Authority and any officer authorised by the
Competent Authority in that behalf —
shall at all times have full and free access to all buildings, places, documents, computers, computer programs and computer
Record Keeping (Business)
8
software (whether installed in a computer or otherwise) for any of the purposes of this Act;
shall have access to any information, code or technology which has the capability of retransforming or unscrambling encrypted data contained or available to such computers into readable and comprehensive format or text for any of the purposes of this Act;
shall be entitled —
without fee or reward, to inspect, copy or make extracts from any such document, computer, computer program, computer software or computer output;
at any reasonable time to inspect and check the operation of any computer, device, apparatus or material which is or has been in use in connection with anything to which this section applies;
may take possession of any such document, computer, device, apparatus, material, computer program or computer software where in his opinion —
the inspection, checking, copying thereof or extraction therefrom cannot reasonably be performed without taking possession;
any such items may be interfered with or destroyed unless possession is taken; or
any such items may be required as evidence in proceedings for an offence against this Act;
shall be entitled to require —
the person by whom or on whose behalf the computer is or has been used, or any person having charge of or otherwise concerned with the operation of the computer, device, apparatus or material to provide the officer with such reasonable assistance as he may require for the purposes of this section;
any person in possession of decryption information to grant him access to such decryption information
Record Keeping (Business)
necessary to decrypt data required for the purpose of this section.
No person shall by virtue of this section be obliged to disclose any particulars as to which he is under any statutory obligation to observe secrecy.
In this section, “computer” and “computer output” have the same meanings as in the Computer Misuse Act (Chapter 194).
Any person who —
without lawful excuse (the proof of which lies on him), wilfully refuses or neglects to furnish the particulars or information required by a requisition within the time allowed for furnishing them or to furnish them in the form specified or prescribed, or to authenticate them in the prescribed manner, or to deliver them at the place or in the manner specified or prescribed for the delivery thereof;
wilfully furnishes or causes to be furnished any false particulars or information in respect of any matter specified in the notice requiring particulars or information to be furnished; or
refuses to answer, or wilfully gives a false answer to, any question necessary for obtaining any particulars or information required by a requisition to be furnished under this Act, is guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $1,000
and, in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine not exceeding $50
for every day during which the offence continues after conviction.
A certificate under the hand of the Competent Authority stating that such records have not been furnished or are incorrect shall be prima facie evidence of the facts stated in the certificate.
s 11Admissibility of evidence
In any proceedings under this Act —
any record of transaction kept in pursuance of section 5 is admissible as evidence of the facts stated in it;
Record Keeping (Business)
any copy of entry in the record of transaction which is certified by the person carrying on or exercising any business by the person by whom the record is required to be kept to be a true copy of the entry shall be admissible as evidence of the facts stated in the entry;
and
any document purporting to be a record of transaction kept under section 5 or purporting to be such a certified copy as is mentioned in paragraph (b), shall, unless the contrary is proved, be presumed to be such a book, record or copy, as the case may be.
No person shall disclose any particulars or information obtained under sections 7 and 9 without the prior consent in writing of the person having the control, management or superintendence of the business.
Notwithstanding subsection (1), the Competent Authority may disclose particulars or information obtained under sections 7 and 9 for the following purposes —
the collection and preparation of statistics;
prosecution under this Act or any other written law;
exchange of information under any arrangements made between the Government and the government of any country or territory outside Brunei Darussalam; or
such other purposes as may be prescribed.
The Competent Authority may, in respect of any particulars or information disclosed under subsection (2) to any person, impose conditions as to the use of such particulars or information by notice in writing to that person.
If any person discloses any records or any particulars or information contrary to this section, or fails to comply with any conditions imposed on him under subsection (3), he is guilty of an offence.
s 13General penalty
Any person who commits an offence against this Act, if no other penalty is provided, is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000.
Record Keeping (Business)
The Competent Authority or any officer authorised by the
Competent Authority in writing in that behalf may compound any offence against this Act by collecting from the person reasonably suspected of having committed that offence a sum of money not exceeding $1,000.
On payment of such sum of money, no further proceedings shall be taken against such person in respect of the offence.
s 15Exemption
The Minister may, with the approval of His Majesty the Sultan and
Yang Di-Pertuan, by order published in the Gazette and subject to such conditions as he may impose, exempt any person or class of persons from all or any of the provisions of this Act.
The Minister may, with the approval of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan, make such regulations as he considers necessary or expedient for giving effect to and carrying out the provisions of this Act, including the prescription of any fees or other thing required to be or which may be prescribed under this Act, and for the due administration thereof.
Such regulations may include such incidental, consequential and supplementary provisions as the Minister considers necessary or expedient.