It shouldn't be allowed to go abroad ... the bank will be frozen. ...

Bankruptcy will bring great inconvenience to personal life, which is no joke. One of them is that the bankrupt will not be allowed to leave Malaysia.

Recently, I received a complaint from a customer who has lived abroad for a long time. When she came back, her Malaysian international passport was detained by the Immigration Bureau, saying that she was bankrupt and was not allowed to go abroad. She was shocked because she didn't know that she had been declared bankrupt by the court.

Bankruptcy law does not allow bankrupts to go abroad, in order to prevent relevant personnel from evading debts. The law also stipulates that the bankrupt must obtain the permission of the poverty reporting department or the court to go abroad, but there are also restrictions on going abroad.

Article 38( 1)(c) of the Bankruptcy Law stipulates:

Bankrupts are not allowed to leave Malaysia without reporting to the poverty department or a court order.

Article 38A of the Bankruptcy Law (1) stipulates that:

The poverty reporting department can send a notice letter to immigration officials, asking the bankrupt not to leave Malaysia.

In Lim Moon Heng v. Malaysian Government &;

In the case of ANOR, the plaintiff declared bankruptcy on 30/111987. At that time, he still had a lot of business dealings overseas, so he applied to the poverty alleviation department of Kuching to leave Malaysia. His application was approved on 20/111998. He also gave RM50,000 to the poverty reporting department as a guarantee.

The plaintiff also asked his lawyer to write to the Inland Revenue Department to ask for permission to leave Malaysia. However, according to article 104, his application was rejected unless he met the following conditions:

(a) The tax refund is as high as 197, 140.09 ringgit; or

(b) provide RM 200,000 as a guarantee.

The plaintiff said that the tax bureau had no right to prevent him from going abroad. He thinks that according to Article 8 of the Bankruptcy Law (1)

It is stipulated that the bankrupt's property will be reported to the poverty alleviation department for taking over, and no creditor can compensate the bankrupt's debt.

The plaintiff also went on to explain that according to Article 24 (4) and Article 58, the right to dispose of the bankrupt's estate has always been in the hands of the poverty reporting department. He also said that the tax bureau has submitted a debt statement through its representative, so his position will be the same as that of other creditors.

Therefore, according to Articles 8, 24(4), 58, 7 1, 72 and 73 of the Bankruptcy Law, only the poverty reporting department has the right to manage the plaintiff's estate, and the tax bureau has no right to prevent it from issuing a certificate to prevent it from going abroad.

In this case, although the bankrupt has been reported to the poverty-stricken department for approval to go abroad, he has been refused by the tax bureau unless he abides by relevant tax laws and regulations. He defended that only bankruptcy law is the only law that manages all his affairs, interests and industries, and this is not the jurisdiction of tax law.

However, the court ruled that Article 38( 1)(c) of the Bankruptcy Ordinance, which provides that the bankrupt applies for going abroad, is limited to the bankrupt who has not defaulted on his taxes. If the bankrupt fails to pay taxes, the poverty reporting department has the absolute right and power to allow the bankrupt to go abroad. However, in this case, although the poverty-stricken department allows him to go abroad, the Commissioner of Taxation has the right to object to his going abroad unless he meets the provisions of Article 104( 1) of the tax law.

Article 104( 1) of the tax law stipulates:

The Commissioner of Taxation personally believes that anyone who wants to leave Malaysia or is about to leave Malaysia has not repaid it.

(a) All taxes (whether due or not);

(b) All funds listed in Article 103 (3), (4), (5), (6), (7) or (8); and

(c) All debts listed in Article 107a (2) or 109 (2) or 109b (2).

Then, the Commissioner of Taxation will issue a certificate containing tax, money or debt to the police or immigration bureau to prevent him from going abroad unless he pays all the tax, money or debt or provides a guarantee until the Commissioner of Taxation is satisfied.

It can be seen that the personal freedom of the bankrupt is not only restricted by the bankruptcy law, but also influenced by other laws, such as the tax law.