Please be informed that the deadline for submission of Sijil Annual and Practising Certificates ("SAPC") applications has been extended to 30 Nov 2020 (Monday) .
In light of the uncertainties resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and concerns that enhanced restrictions may be introduced to deal with the surge in cases, the Bar Council urges Members to submit their applications as soon as possible .
Please go to tinyurl.com/y6t38fpz to download the complete version of this circular.
Circular No 321/2020
Dated 30 Sept 2020
To Members of the Malaysian Bar
Sijil Annual 2021
Pursuant to part III of the Legal Profession Act 1976 (“LPA”), Sijil Annual and Practising Certificate (“SAPC”) shall be renewed annually by every advocate and solicitor.
All applications for SAPC can only be made online. You must log in to the Bar Council Member Online Portal in order to complete and submit your SAPC applications. All supporting documents must be scanned and uploaded online during the application process. No hard copy documents will be accepted.
The authorised representative of your law firm can assist you to prepare your SAPC application through the Bar Council Law Firm Online Portal, but ultimately youmust submit your own SAPC application through the Member Online Portal.
When ready, your SAPC can only be retrieved from the online portal. No hard copies of the SAPC will be provided.
Please scroll down to read an overview of the SAPC online application process.
Kindly note that you will not be able to prepare / submit your SAPC application until:
(1) you log in to the Member Online Portal using the login system that utilises Transaction Authorisation Codes (“TACs”). A TAC is a unique 6-digit code to verify that you are authorised to access your online portal account. TACs will be sent by SMS to your Malaysian mobile phone number that is registered with the Bar Council;
(2) you have settled all outstanding payments. It may take up to five working days for your payments to be processed. Please refer to section D on pages 46 to 48 in Appendix E; and
(3) you have completed and printed your Statutory Declaration, affirmed it in the presence of a Commissioner for Oaths, and uploaded it during the online application process. Please refer to section C on pages 40 to 45 in Appendix E.
Please go to tinyurl.com/y6t38fpz to download the complete version of this circular, which contains important information regarding the online SAPC application process, including a step-by-step pictorial guide.
To enable the Bar Council Secretariat to deal with your application expeditiously, kindly submit your SAPC application online, on or before 30 Oct 2020 (Friday).
Should you have any enquiries, please contact the Membership Department by telephone at 03-2050 2191 or by email at membership@malaysianbar.org.my.
Thank you.
A G KALIDAS
Secretary
Malaysian Bar
Overview of the SAPC Online Application Process
I. How to Access the Bar Council Online Portal
The online portal is accessible through the Malaysian Bar website at www.malaysianbar.org.my.
(A) Member Online Portal
The login system for Members to access the Member Online Portal utilises Transaction Authorisation Codes (“TACs”). A TAC is a unique 6-digit code to verify that you are authorised to access your online portal account. TACs will be sent by SMS to your Malaysian mobile phone number that is registered with the Bar Council.
Please refer to Appendix A on pages 9 to 15 for a step-by-step pictorial guide on how to:
(1) log in for the first time;
(2) log in subsequently, after having completed the first-time login process; and
(3) set a new password, if you have lost your password or your password does not work.
(B) Law Firm Online Portal
The authorised representative of your law firm can assist you to prepare your SAPC application through the Law Firm Online Portal. However, please note that ultimately, you must submit your own SAPC application through the Member Online Portal.
Law firms that have not yet nominated an authorised representative may do so by providing the following particulars of the authorised representative, to whom the law firm’s username and password will be released by email:
(1) Name;
(2) Designation;
(3) Office address; and
(4) Email address.
Please submit these details by completing and returning the Law Firm Online Portal Registration Form (please refer to Appendix B on page 16) to the Bar Council, together with the original copy of a covering letter on the law firm’s letterhead. It may take up to three working days for your request to be processed.
If your law firm had previously been issued a username and password, those same particulars can be used to access the Law Firm Online Portal.
II. How to Create Your SAPC Application Using the Member Online Portal
(A) Renewing Your SAPC
If you have a valid SAPC 2020 and you are submitting an application for SAPC 2021 on or before 31 Jan 2021, please refer to the step-by-step pictorial guide contained in Appendix C (pages 17 to 21).
(B) Applying for Your First SAPC
If you are a newly-called applicant and you are applying for your SAPC for the first time, please refer to the step-by-step pictorial guide contained in Appendix C(pages 22 to 25).
(C) Applying for Your SAPC in Order to Resume Practice, or Applying for SAPC 2021 after 31 Jan 2021
If you ceased practice prior to the issuance of SAPC 2020 or in 2020, and you are applying for your SAPC in order to resume practice; or you are submitting an application for SAPC 2021 after 31 Jan 2021, please refer to the step-by-step pictorial guide contained in Appendix C (pages 26 to 29).
III. How Your Law Firm’s Authorised Representative Can Assist to Create Your SAPC Application Using the Law Firm Online Portal
The authorised representative of your law firm can assist you to create and prepare your SAPC application through the Law Firm Online Portal. However, please note that ultimately, you must submit your own SAPC application through the Member Online Portal.
Please refer to section I(B) (entitled “Law Firm Online Portal”) on pages 2 to 3 above for information on how a law firm can request a username and password.
(A) Renewing Your SAPC
If you have a valid SAPC 2020 and you are submitting an application for SAPC 2021 on or before 31 Jan 2021, your law firm’s authorised representative can assist you by logging into the Law Firm Online Portal, using the law firm’s username and password.
For a step-by-step pictorial guide, please refer to pages 30 to 34 in Appendix D.
(B) Applying for Your First SAPC
If you are a newly-called applicant and you are applying for your SAPC for the first time, the authorised representative of your law firm can assist you once you have received the email notification from the Bar Council containing your membership number.
For a step-by-step pictorial guide, please refer to page 34 in Appendix D.
(C) Applying for Your SAPC in Order to Resume Practice, or Applying for SAPC 2021 after 31 Jan 2021
If you ceased practice prior to the issuance of SAPC 2020 or in 2020, and you are applying for your SAPC in order to resume practice; or you are submitting an application for SAPC 2021 after 31 Jan 2021, the authorised representative of your law firm can assist you once you have received the email notification from the Bar Council confirming your membership number.
For a step-by-step pictorial guide, please refer to page 34 in Appendix D.
IV. How to Prepare and Submit Your SAPC Application
The SAPC application form is the same in both the Member Online Portal and the Law Firm Online Portal.
You can prepare your own SAPC application using the Member Online Portal. Alternatively, the authorised representative of your law firm can assist you to prepare your SAPC application through the Law Firm Online Portal. However, please note that ultimately, you must submit your own SAPC application through the Member Online Portal.
There are seven tabs in the SAPC application form that have to be completed. In each tab, all applicable sections must be completed, and scanned copies of the required supporting documents must be uploaded.
Please click the “Save” button at the bottom of every section, in order to save all the information provided or changes made.
(A) Tab 1: Personal Particulars
For a step-by-step pictorial guide on completing this section, please refer to pages 36 to 37 in Appendix E.
If you are a newly-called applicant and you are applying for your SAPC for the first time, you must upload the Order of Admission as an advocate and solicitor, and a copy of the official receipt for the RM200 admission fee paid to the Advocates and Solicitors Disciplinary Board.
(B) Tab 2: Jurisdictions / Gainful Employment Details
For a step-by-step pictorial guide on completing this section, please refer to pages 38 to 39 in Appendix E.
(C) Tab 3: Practice / Employment Details & History
For a step-by-step pictorial guide on completing this section, please refer to pages 40 to 45 in Appendix E.
Please note that your Statutory Declaration will be generated by the SAPC online application system, based on the information you provide. Once you have printed your Statutory Declaration and affirmed it in the presence of a Commissioner for Oaths, you must upload it online in order to be able to submit your SAPC application.
If you are a sole proprietor or partner, please refer to pages 42 to 43 in Appendix E for details regarding the maintenance of client accounts.
(D) Tab 4: Payment & Insurance Status
For a step-by-step pictorial guide on completing this section, please refer to pages 46 to 48 in Appendix E.
(1) Please ensure that the following payments have been made:*
(a) (2020) Annual Subscription: RM350;
(b) (2020) Building Fund (Levy): RM120;
(c) (2020) Legal Aid Fund (Levy): RM100;
(d) (2021) Compensation Fund (Contribution): RM100;
(e) (2021) Discipline Fund (Prescribed Fee): RM60; and
(f) Payment pursuant to section 46(6) of the LPA (if applicable): RM350.
* The years specified above are applicable to Members who have a valid SAPC 2020 and are submitting an application for SAPC 2021.
You will not be able to submit your SAPC application until you have settled all outstanding payments. It may take up to five working days for your payments to be processed.
For details about making payment, kindly refer to Circular No 143/2020 dated 6 May 2020, entitled “2020 Malaysian Bar Payments Required under the Legal Profession Act 1976”. For enquiries, please contact the Finance Department by telephone at 03-2050 2128 or by email at finance@malaysianbar.org.my.
(2) Please obtain the Professional Indemnity Insurance (“PII”) cover (2021) from Marsh Insurance Brokers (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (“Marsh”) and upload the relevant PII Schedule. You are encouraged to complete your renewal online, as the online renewal system is more convenient and, barring any previous notifications of claims / circumstances against the law firm, the firm’s invoice will be produced instantly and sent to the firm by email.
(3) If you have fines that are due and payable to the Advocates and Solicitors Disciplinary Board, your SAPC will only be issued once you upload a copy of the official receipt in respect of your payment.
(E) Tab 5: Accountant’s Report
For a step-by-step pictorial guide on completing this section, please refer to pages 49 to 50 in Appendix E.
Each sole proprietor / partner must submit a copy of the Accountant’s Report for the period from 1 Jan to 31 Dec 2019, unless exempted by the Bar Council under rule 6 of the Accountant’s Report Rules 1990, for the following:
(1) Main office; and
(2) Branch office(s) (only applicable to a sole proprietor / partner with branch office(s)).
The Accountant’s Report must be issued in the name of individual Members.
If you have more than one office, please ensure that the Accountant’s Report covers all offices and/or branches, or separate Accountant’s Reports are submitted for every office.
If you are resuming practice and you were a sole proprietor / partner before ceasing practice, the Accountant’s Report for the relevant accounting period during which you were practising as a sole proprietor / partner until the date of cessation of practice or until 31 Dec 2019, whichever is earlier, must be submitted.
(F) Tab 6: State Bar Certificate(s)
For a step-by-step pictorial guide on completing this section, please refer to pages 51 to 52 in Appendix E.
Where a firm has offices in more than one state, the sole proprietor / every partner of that firm must be a member of all the State Bars where the offices are located, and must upload scanned copies of the State Bar certificates confirming that there are no arrears in subscription(s) for 2020, for the following:
(1) Main office; and
(2) Branch office(s) (only applicable to a sole proprietor / partner with branch office(s)).
If you are resuming practice, you must submit the State Bar certificates for:
(1) the last year of practice in which you were issued an SAPC; and
(2) for the current year, or the year of the SAPC that you intend to apply for (as the case may be).
(G) Tab 7: Declaration
You will submit your SAPC application in this section.
Please note that you must submit your own SAPC application through the Member Online Portal. The authorised representative of your law firm is unable to submit any SAPC application through the Law Firm Online Portal.
For a step-by-step pictorial guide, please refer to page 53 in Appendix E.
V. How to Retrieve Your SAPC
You can check the status of your SAPC application at the “Sijil Annual (“SA”) Application and Submission History” page.
Once you receive an email notification that your SAPC has been issued, you can download the documents from the Member Online Portal and print them. Alternatively, your law firm’s authorised representative can retrieve them from the Law Firm Online Portal.
The Bar Council will not provide any hard copies of your SAPC.
For a step-by-step pictorial guide, please refer to pages 54 to 55 in Appendix E.
VI. Other Matters
(A) Practising Without a Practising Certificate after 31 Dec 2020
Section 29(3) of the LPA provides that if a Member has duly complied with section 29(1) of the LPA (relating to the application for Practising Certificates) “in the month of January of any year, the practising certificate issued to him in respect of that year shall be deemed to have been in operation from the 1st day of January of that year”.
You may appear in court and carry on with your law practice in January 2021 even if you have not received your Practising Certificate 2021, provided you comply with section 29(3) of the LPA.
The status of a Member who was in possession of a valid SAPC 2020 but who is not issued a valid SAPC 2021 on or before 31 Jan 2021, will be changed from “active” to “inactive” in the Bar Council’s database on 1 Feb 2021.
(B) Cessation of Practice
Members are reminded that those who wish to cease practice, either on a permanent or temporary basis, are required to notify the Bar Council in accordance with section 31(2) of the LPA, and to comply with the Bar Council’s Rules on Cessation of, or Change in, Practice (“Rules”). Please click here to download a copy of the Rules and the relevant forms from the Malaysian Bar website.
A Member will not be deemed to have ceased practice merely as a result of the expiration of the validity of the Member’s Practising Certificate 2020 on 31 Dec 2020 pursuant to section 29(2) of the LPA.
(C) Disciplinary Proceedings
The Bar Council will institute disciplinary proceedings after 31 Jan 2021 against Members who have not been issued SAPC 2021 on or before 31 Jan 2021, except in respect of Members from whom the Bar Council has received a Notice of Cessation of Practice as an Advocate and Solicitor, supported with a Statutory Declaration, as prescribed under the Rules.
For sole proprietors who do not have a valid SAPC 2021 and have not ceased practice, site inspections will be conducted and injunction proceedings will be instituted against sole proprietors whose firms are found to be in operation. In the event that the Bar Council institutes injunction proceedings against a Member, any costs incurred by the Bar Council shall be borne by the Member concerned.
(D) Personal Information Provided to Bar Council
The personal information that you provide to the Bar Council, whether now or in the future, may be used, recorded, stored, disclosed or otherwise processed by or on behalf of the Bar Council for the purposes of facilitating the issuance of your SAPC, research and audit, and maintenance of a database relating to the membership of the Malaysian Bar, and such ancillary functions and services as may be relevant.
VII. Enquiries
If you require assistance to prepare and submit your SAPC application:
(1) Bar Council Secretariat
Kindly contact the SAPC hotline / Membership Department by telephone at 03-2050 2191, or send an email to membership@malaysianbar.org.my.
The help desk at the Bar Council Secretariat will be open from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, Monday to Friday.
(2) State Bar Committees
Please refer to Appendix F on page 56 for details regarding the help desks that are being set up by the State Bar Committees.