Malaysia Consumer Protection Law for Businesses (2026): Act 599 Misleading Claims and Unfair Terms, Price Marking Under Act 723, Halal Trade Descriptions, CPETTR and the E-Commerce Law Now Being Drafted

Most foreign companies arrive in Malaysia with a licence checklist: SSM, the council business licence, WRT if they are foreign-controlled retailers, perhaps halal and a product approval. What almost none of them budget for is the body of law that governs what they actually say and charge once the doors are open. The price on the shelf, the word "original" in a product title, the "50% off" banner, the clause on the back of the invoice that says goods are not returnable, and the chat reply promising a one-year warranty are all regulated, mostly by the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN), and mostly under four instruments: the Consumer Protection Act 1999 (Act 599), the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act 2011 (Act 723), the Trade Descriptions Act 2011 (Act 730) and the Consumer Protection (Electronic Trade Transactions) Regulations 2024. This guide walks through each one from the seller's side of the counter, gives you the penalty figures as they appear in the statute, and ends with the changes KPDN has put on the 2026 table, including a new e-commerce law and a lemon-law amendment to Act 599.

Why consumer law is the regime that actually reaches foreign sellers

Licensing law asks one question once: may you trade? Consumer law asks a different question every day: is what you just told a customer true, complete and fair? That is why it generates far more enforcement contact than licensing does. A retailer can hold every licence it needs and still receive a KPDN notice because a price tag was missing during a festive-season inspection, or a Tribunal for Consumer Claims summons because a customer was refused a refund on a defective appliance.

Three features of the Malaysian framework catch foreign companies out in particular.

• Liability sits on the company, and the numbers are large. Act 599's core offences carry fines of up to RM250,000 for a body corporate, doubling for a repeat offence. Act 723's profiteering offence reaches RM500,000 and then RM1,000,000. The halal order under Act 730 reaches RM5 million.
• "No returns" does not mean no returns. The statutory guarantees in Act 599 apply whatever the receipt says, and the Act voids attempts to contract out of them in consumer transactions.
• Home-market habits do not translate. Marketing copy approved at headquarters in Shenzhen or Taipei, a "was/now" price copied from a regional template, or a halal claim that is valid in another country can each be an offence in Malaysia.

The four instruments at a glance

Act 599, Part II: what you may not say

Part II of the Consumer Protection Act is the heart of the regime for anyone who advertises or sells. It is drafted around conduct, not intent: the question is whether the representation is false or misleading, not whether the company meant to mislead. The key provisions a sales or marketing team needs to know are these.

• Section 10 — false or misleading representations about goods. No person may falsely represent that goods are of a particular kind, standard, quality, grade, quantity, composition, style or model, that they are new, that they have sponsorship, approval, performance characteristics or benefits they do not have, or that they come from a particular place. In practice this catches "genuine", "imported from Japan", "medical grade", "certified" and specification claims that the product cannot support.
• Section 12 — misleading indications as to price. An offence is committed by giving a consumer an indication that is misleading as to the price at which goods or services are available, or by leaving a price indication in place after it has become misleading. Fake "was" prices, a headline price that excludes a mandatory charge, and a "from RM99" offer where nothing is actually available at RM99 are the classic cases.
• Section 13 — bait advertising. A business may not advertise goods or services at a specified price that it does not intend to supply, or that it has no reasonable grounds to believe it can supply for a reasonable period and in reasonable quantities.
• Section 14 — gifts, prizes and free items. Offering something "free" with the intention of not providing it, or not providing it as offered, is prohibited.
• Section 15 — claims that goods are limited. "Only three left" and "limited edition" claims must be true; falsely representing that goods are limited in number or availability is prohibited.
• Section 16 — demanding or accepting payment without intending to supply. Taking payment for goods or services the business does not intend to supply, or cannot supply as represented, is caught.
• Section 17 — future services contracts. Prepaid packages for gyms, beauty, education and similar services are regulated separately because the consumer pays before the service is delivered.

Section 25 makes contravention of Parts II and III an offence. A body corporate faces a fine of up to RM250,000, and up to RM500,000 for a second or subsequent offence. An individual faces up to RM100,000 or three years' imprisonment or both, rising to RM250,000 or six years. A continuing offence adds up to RM1,000 for each day it continues after conviction.

Unfair contract terms and the guarantees you cannot exclude

Many foreign companies use standard terms drafted for another jurisdiction, or for business-to-business sales, and apply them to Malaysian consumers. Two parts of Act 599 make that risky.

Part IIIA (sections 24A to 24J) — unfair contract terms. Added by amendment, this part allows a term in a consumer contract to be found procedurally unfair (because of how the contract was reached, for example unequal bargaining power, no explanation of the term, or pressure) or substantively unfair (because the term itself is harsh, oppressive or excessively one-sided). Section 24I makes contravention an offence. Clauses that exclude all liability, allow the seller to change the price unilaterally after payment, or forfeit deposits without regard to actual loss deserve review.

Parts V and VI — statutory guarantees. Where goods are supplied to a consumer, section 32 implies a guarantee that they are of acceptable quality: fit for the purposes for which goods of that type are commonly bought, acceptable in appearance and finish, free from minor defects, safe and durable, having regard to price and the description given. Further guarantees cover correspondence with description, fitness for a particular purpose made known to the supplier, reasonable availability of spare parts and repair facilities, and express guarantees given by the supplier or manufacturer. Services carry their own guarantees of reasonable care and skill, fitness for purpose and completion within a reasonable time. A "no refund, no exchange" notice does not remove these rights.

Part X — product liability. Section 68 makes the producer, the person who puts its own name or brand on the product, and the importer into Malaysia liable for damage caused wholly or partly by a defect in the product. For a foreign brand importing through its own Malaysian subsidiary, that subsidiary is the importer.

Act 723: price marking and profiteering

The Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act 2011 is the law behind KPDN's familiar festive-season price inspections. Two mechanisms matter to ordinary businesses.

Price marking. Under the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering (Price Marking of Goods and Charges for Services) Order 2020, retailers and service providers must display prices, either by a price tag on the goods or a clearly visible price list for goods and services. KPDN's guidance requires the description and price to be shown in Bahasa Malaysia, legible and clearly visible to the consumer. Sector orders go further: the Price Marking for Drug Order 2025 made under section 10 of Act 723 now requires private healthcare facilities and community pharmacies to display medicine prices, with fines of up to RM100,000 reported for non-compliance.

Controlled goods and profiteering. The Minister may fix maximum prices for specific goods, which are then marked with KPDN's distinctive price tags during control periods. Separately, a seller commits a profiteering offence if it makes an unreasonably high profit, measured under a mechanism prescribed by regulations. KPDN's published penalty for profiteering by a body corporate is a fine of up to RM500,000, and up to RM1,000,000 for a second or subsequent offence.

Act 730: trade descriptions, and why halal is its own risk tier

The Trade Descriptions Act 2011 overlaps with Act 599 but has its own orders and a sharper focus on what is written on or about goods: origin, composition, quantity, standards, and statements in advertising. For consumer-goods businesses, the most consequential orders are the two halal orders made in 2011.

• The Trade Descriptions (Definition of Halal) Order 2011 (P.U. (A) 430/2011) defines when food and goods may be described as halal, and makes it an offence to supply or offer food or goods through any representation likely to mislead a person into believing they are halal, including through Quranic verses or other Islamic symbols.
• The Trade Descriptions (Certification and Marking of Halal) Order 2011 (P.U. (A) 431/2011) makes JAKIM and the state Islamic religious authorities the competent authorities, and lists the foreign halal certification bodies whose marks are recognised. It is amended regularly; the amendment in force from 21 August 2026 brings the list to 96 recognised foreign bodies.

The penalties under the Definition of Halal Order are an order of magnitude above ordinary consumer offences: for a body corporate, a fine of up to RM5 million, and up to RM10 million for a second or subsequent offence; for an individual, up to RM1 million or three years' imprisonment or both, rising to RM5 million or five years. Our JAKIM halal certification guide explains the certification route itself.

Selling online: CPETTR 2024 and what is coming next

The Consumer Protection (Electronic Trade Transactions) Regulations 2024 came into force on 25 December 2024, replacing the 2012 regulations, with enforcement from 24 June 2025. They focus on online marketplaces and the sellers on them. Sellers must disclose their business name and registration number, contact details, an accurate description, the full price, payment methods, terms, estimated delivery time and any applicable safety certification; allow buyers to correct errors before an order is final; acknowledge orders; and bear return shipping costs for defective or materially different goods. Marketplace operators must ensure sellers comply, monitor advertisements, run a complaint channel and keep seller records for three years. The requirement that listings be in Bahasa Malaysia is in the regulations, but KPDN paused its enforcement in June 2025 for further consultation. We covered the cross-border seller's view, including the low-value goods tax, in our cross-border e-commerce guide.

That regime is not the end state. On 25 June 2026, Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali told the Dewan Rakyat that the government is drafting a new e-commerce law to strengthen platform accountability. The review of e-commerce legislation began in April 2024; KPDN prepared a Cabinet memorandum for July 2026, with the Bill to follow. Areas flagged include platform responsibilities, counterfeit goods, requiring overseas entities to comply with Malaysian law, and requiring authorised local representatives for foreign sellers. The minister cited 38,503 counterfeit-related complaints between 2023 and June 2026 and 412 websites blocked between January and May 2026.

The 2026 reform pipeline

When a customer complains: the Tribunal for Consumer Claims

Most consumer disputes never reach a criminal court. They go to the Tribunal for Consumer Claims Malaysia (TTPM), established under Act 599. Its jurisdiction covers claims of up to RM50,000. Lawyers generally do not appear, the filing fee is nominal, and the Tribunal aims to make its award within 60 days of the first hearing day where practicable. Awards are final and binding, and failing to comply with an award is itself an offence, with a fine of up to RM10,000 or imprisonment of up to two years.

For a business, the lesson is that a TTPM claim is cheap for the consumer and expensive in management time for you. The best defence is a documented, fair complaint process: a clear refund and repair policy consistent with the statutory guarantees, a record of what was sold and said, and a named person who can settle disputes before they are filed.

A compliance build for a foreign-owned retailer or e-commerce business

1. Map your representations. List every place you make claims: packaging, shelf talkers, product pages, marketplace listings, social media, chat scripts and sales decks. Assign an owner for each channel.
2. Build an evidence file for every claim. Test reports, certificates, origin documents and price history for promotions. If a claim relies on a foreign standard, say so and keep the certificate.
3. Localise, do not just translate. Put Bahasa Malaysia on price tags and prepare Malay-language listings now; check that home-market superlatives and certification marks are true in Malaysia.
4. Rewrite consumer terms for Malaysia. Remove blanket exclusions of liability and "no refund" wording that conflicts with the statutory guarantees; align warranty terms with section 32 and the express-guarantee rules.
5. Set a pricing change protocol. Document cost changes before price increases, particularly around SST changes and festive seasons.
6. Treat halal as a controlled claim. No halal wording, Arabic script or Islamic symbolism on packaging or menus without a valid Malaysian certificate or a recognised foreign mark.
7. Stand up a complaints desk. A response time, a refund and repair matrix, and an escalation route that settles valid claims before they reach TTPM.
8. Get the licensing base right first. Consumer compliance sits on top of your entity and licences. For a foreign-controlled retailer that usually means a WRT licence and a council premise licence before the first sale.

How ONEKEY BIZ can help

We set up and license foreign-owned trading, retail, F&B and e-commerce companies in Malaysia, and we build the compliance layer on top: KPDN licensing, contract and consumer terms review, price-marking and listing checklists, and the halal and product-approval steps that sit alongside them. If you are opening a store, launching on a Malaysian marketplace, or have received a KPDN notice or a TTPM claim, talk to our team, or see our WRT licence service to start with the licence that decides whether a foreign-controlled retailer may trade at all.

This article is general information only, not legal, tax or immigration advice. Policies, thresholds and official fees are set by the relevant Malaysian authorities and may change. Talk to our consultants about your specific situation.