CREDIT REPORTING AGENCIES ACT 2010

Credit Reporting Agencies 1 LAWS OF MALAYSIA REPRINT Act 710 CREDIT REPORTING AGENCIES ACT 2010 As at 1 November 2024 PUBLISHED BY THE COMMISSIONER OF LAW REVISION, MALAYSIA UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF THE REVISION OF LAWS ACT 1968 2024 2 Act 710 Laws of Malaysia CREDIT REPORTING AGENCIES ACT 2010 Date of Royal Assent … … … 2 June 2010 Date of publication in the Gazette … … … 10 June 2010 Credit Reporting Agencies 3 LAWS OF MALAYSIA Act 710 CREDIT REPORTING AGENCIES ACT 2010 ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS Part I PRELIMINARY Section 1. Short title and commencement 2. Interpretation Part II APPOINTMENT, FUNCTIONS AND POWERS OF REGISTRAR 3. Appointment of Registrar 4. Functions of Registrar 5. Powers of Registrar 6. Appointment of Deputy Registrar and Assistant Registrar 7. Appointment of officers 8. Delegation of Registrar’s functions and powers 9. Register of Credit Reporting Agencies 10. Restriction on enquiring specifically into affairs of particular customer Part III REGISTRATION OF CREDIT REPORTING AGENCIES 11. Prohibition to carry on credit reporting business unless registered 12. Restriction to carry on business other than credit reporting business 13. Application for registration 4 Laws of Malaysia Act 710 Section 14. Certificate of registration 15. Renewal of certificate of registration 16. Revocation of registration 17. Surrender of certificate of registration 18. Appeal against decision of Registrar 19. Handling of credit information when registration of credit reporting agency is revoked, etc. Part IV MANAGEMENT OF CREDIT REPORTING AGENCIES 20. Minimum paid-up capital 21. Appointment of chief executive, etc. Part V CONDUCT OF BUSINESS OF CREDIT REPORTING AGENCIES 22. Collection of credit information 23. Notice to customer on processing of credit information 24. Disclosure of credit information 25. Prohibited disclosure in credit report 26. Storage and security of credit information 27. Obligation of subscribers, etc. 28. Unfavourable credit action 29. Accuracy of credit information 30. Right of access to credit information or credit report 31. Right to correct credit information or credit report Part VI INSPECTION, COMPLAINT AND INVESTIGATION 32. Inspection of data system 33. Relevant credit reporting agency to be informed of result of inspection Credit Reporting Agencies 5 Section 34. Reports by Registrar 35. Complaint 36. Investigation by Registrar 37. Restriction on investigation initiated by complaint 38. Registrar may carry out or continue investigation initiated by complaint notwithstanding withdrawal of complaint 39. Enforcement notice 40. Variation or cancellation of enforcement notice Part VII ENFORCEMENT 41. Authorized officers 42. Authority card 43. Power of investigation 44. Search and seizure with warrant 45. Search and seizure without warrant 46. Access to computerized data 47. Warrant admissible notwithstanding defects 48. List of computer, book, account, etc., seized 49. Release of computer, book, account, etc., seized 50. No cost or damages arising from seizure to be recoverable 51. Obstruction to search 52. Power to require production of computer, book, account, etc. 53. Power to require attendance of persons acquainted with case 54. Examination of persons acquainted with case 55. Admission of statements in evidence 56. Forfeiture of computer, book, account, etc., seized 57. Joinder of offences 58. Power of arrest 6 Laws of Malaysia Act 710 Part VIII MISCELLANEOUS Section 59. Appeal to Minister 60. Exemption 61. Transfer of credit information to places outside Malaysia 62. Unlawful collecting, etc., of credit information 63. Abetment and attempt punishable as offences 64. Compounding of offences 65. Offences by body corporate 66. Prosecution 67. Jurisdiction to try offences 68. Service of notice or other documents 69. Protection against suit and legal proceedings 70. Protection of informers 71. Obligation of secrecy 72. Power of Minister to make regulations 73. Prevention of anomalies 74. Power of Minister to amend First Schedule and Second Schedule 75. Power to issue Summary of Rights, codes of practice, etc. 76. Personal Data Protection Act 2009 shall not apply Part IX SAVINGS AND TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS 77. Carrying on credit reporting business before the commencement of this Act First Schedule Second Schedule Third Schedule Fourth Schedule Credit Reporting Agencies 7 LAWS OF MALAYSIA Act 710 CREDIT REPORTING AGENCIES ACT 2010 An Act to provide for the registration and regulation of persons carrying on credit reporting businesses and for matters connected therewith and incidental thereto. [15 January 2014; P.U. (B) 12/2014] ENACTED by the Parliament of Malaysia as follows: Part I PRELIMINARY Short title and commencement 1. (1) This Act may be cited as the Credit Reporting Agencies Act 2010. (2) This Act comes into operation on a date to be appointed by the Minister by notification in the Gazette, and the Minister may appoint different dates for different provisions of this Act. Interpretation 2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires— “credit reporting agency” means a person who carries on a credit reporting business and is registered under subsection 14(2); 8 Laws of Malaysia Act 710 “relevant credit reporting agency”, in relation to— (a) an inspection, means the credit reporting agency who uses the data system which is the subject of the inspection; (b) a complaint, means the credit reporting agency specified in the complaint; (c) an investigation— (i) in the case of an investigation initiated by a complaint, means the credit reporting agency specified in the complaint; (ii) in any other case, means the credit reporting agency who is the subject of the investigation; (d) an enforcement notice, means the credit reporting agency on whom the enforcement notice is served; “credit rating agency” means a person who is specified to be a registered person in Part 2 of Schedule 4 to the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007 [Act 671] and who provides investment advice in relation to the provision of ratings for debentures; “this Act” includes regulations, orders, notifications or other subsidiary legislation made under this Act; “Register” means the Register of Credit Reporting Agencies established and maintained under section 9; “specified”, where no mode is mentioned, means specified from time to time in writing; “prescribed” means prescribed by the Minister under this Act and, where no mode is mentioned, means prescribed by order published in the Gazette; “document” has the meaning assigned to it in section 3 of the Evidence Act 1950 [Act 56]; Credit Reporting Agencies 9 “constituent documents”, in relation to a body, corporate or unincorporate, means the statute, charter, memorandum of association, articles of association, rules, by-laws, partnership agreement, or other instrument, under or by which the body is incorporated or established, and its governing and administrative structure and the scope of its functions, business, powers and duties as set out, whether contained in one or more documents; “chief executive”, in relation to a credit reporting agency, means the principal executive officer of the credit reporting agency for the time being, by whatever name called, and whether or not he is a director; “credit” means— (a) any Islamic financing facility in whatever form or by whatever name called whether or not such facility involves a sale, purchase, sale and repurchase, lease, sale and lease back, sale and buy back arrangement, joint venture arrangement, deferred payment sale, return sharing arrangement and any other financing arrangements or dealings involving assets or properties made in accordance with Islamic law; (b) any advance, loan, trade credit or other facility in whatever form or by whatever name called whereby the person to whom the advance, loan, trade credit or other facility is given has access, directly or indirectly, to the funds or property of the person giving it; (c) any hire-purchase, Islamic hire-purchase, leasing, factoring, debt trading and such similar dealings or transactions; (d) the giving of a guarantee or any security in relation to the obligations of any person; or (e) any other like dealing or transaction as may be prescribed by the Minister on the recommendation of the Registrar; “credit report” means any record or information, whether in a written, oral or other form, that— (a) has any bearing on a customer’s— (i) eligibility to be provided with credit; 10 Laws of Malaysia Act 710 (ii) history in relation to credit; or (iii) capacity to repay credit; and (b) is used, has been used or is capable of being used as one of the factors in establishing a customer’s eligibility for credit; “access log” means a record of every access made to credit information held by a credit reporting agency; “credit information” means any information of a customer collected by a credit provider in the course of or in connection with the providing of credit, or any record or information of a customer processed in the course of or in connection with the carrying on of a credit reporting business, and may include information as listed in the First Schedule; “use”, in relation to credit information, does not include the act of collecting or disclosing such credit information; “collect”, in relation to credit information, means an act by which such credit information enters into or comes under the control of a credit reporting agency; “Minister” means the Minister responsible for finance; “disclose”, in relation to credit information, means an act by which credit information is made available by a credit reporting agency; “person” includes an individual, any corporation, society, trade union, co-operative society, partnership or any other body, organization, association or group of persons, whether corporate or unincorporate; “relevant person”, in relation to a customer, howsoever described, means— (a) in the case of a customer who is incapable of managing his own affairs, a person who is appointed by a court to manage those affairs, or a person authorized in writing by the customer to act on behalf of the customer; or Credit Reporting Agencies 11 (b) in any other case, a person authorized in writing by the customer to make an access request, correction request, or both such requests, on behalf of the customer; “subscriber” means any person who has entered into a subscriber agreement with a credit reporting agency; “officer”, in relation to a credit reporting agency, includes the chief executive and any employee; “authorized officer” means any officer authorized in writing by the Registrar under section 41; “customer” means any person who is applying for credit from, or who has been granted credit by, a credit provider and who is the subject of the credit information; “credit provider” means any person as listed in the Second Schedule; “correction”, in relation to credit information, includes amendment, variation, modification or deletion; “requestor”, in relation to an access request or correction request, means the customer or the relevant person on behalf of the customer, who has made the request; “credit information processor”, in relation to credit information, means any person, other than an employee of the credit reporting agency, who processes the credit information solely on behalf of the credit reporting agency, and does not process the credit information for any of his own purposes; “processing”, in relation to credit information, means collecting, recording, holding or storing the credit information or carrying out any operation or set of operations on the credit information, including— (a) the organization, adaptation or alteration of credit information; (b) the retrieval, consultation or use