The FIMI plus 30% ATL and BTL Production Rebate is being extended, with the rebate available now standing at RM 100m (approx $25m) in 2019. This is a another great reason for production companies to film in Malaysia!
To see if FIMI plus is right for your project, here is a summary of the FIMI plus scheme. For full details and guidance contact us…
1. To qualify for the incentive the project must have qualifying spend of at least RM5,000,000.
2. Spend at least 10% of your Qualifying Malaysian Production Expenditure(QMPE) at Pinewood Iskandar Malaysia Studios
3. Total QMPE to exceed RM5,000,000
4. Must have PUSPAL script approval
5. Must be produced by Eligible applicant producer as set out in the Guidelines clause 2.4
Labour
1. Foreign Cast fees are capped at 20% of total QMPE
2. Foreign Crew fees are capped at 20% of total QMPE
3. Foreign crew have a minimum work time of 14 days for their Fees to Qualify as QMPE.
4 Individual foreign cast and crew fees only amounts under the first RM7.5M are QMPE.
5 Individual local cast and crew fees only amounts under the first RM100,000 are QMPE.
6. 50% of Local Hires must be Bumiputra(Native Malaysian).
Non-QMPE
1.Insurance related to finance, Negative Film Risk, Weather and completion bonds.
2. Legal Expenses related to Financing
3. International Flights
4. Tax
5. Audit Fees related to FIMI plus audit report.
6. Amounts in excess of 5% of your pre-approved QMPE.
7. Expenditure incurred outside Provisional Certificate dates or after submission of final Certificate.
8. Expenses paid to Non-Malaysian companies other than labour.
As of June 2019, the guidelines have been revised to be specifically relevant to international productions. Here is a summary of the changes:
1. International Flights: Malaysian Airlines flights booked through their platform allowable as QMPE, capped at one business return per person.
2. Recce: inclusion of recce cost pre-PUSPAL, capped at RM30k.
3. There is no cap on Malaysia cast/crew which was previously RM100k per individual.
4. No cap on all domestic flights.
5. QMPE per content hour has been decreased to RM200k per hour, from RM385k previously
6. Multiple submissions: Series can be grouped/bundled together as a single application if it has the same title (can be different versions/language) and is produced concurrently/consequentially.
7. Process: Applications are to be sent to Studio Film Office directly rather than via FINAS.
8. Cash Rebate: The rebate quantum remains unchanged at 30% of QMPE for scripted, and 20% for reality programming. There is no project cap, but there is an annual cap, so early submissions are encouraged.
As of June 2019, the guidelines have been revised to be specifically relevant to local productions. Here is a summary of the changes to the domestic guidelines:
1. Expenditure threshold: Spend in Malaysia (“QMPE”) decreased to RM1.0m from RM2.5m previously. The required spending at the Iskandar Studios remains at 5% of QMPE [note: QMPE generally covers all production spend in the country, and not just spend within the studio facility]
2. QMPE per content hour: Decrease to RM40k per hour, from RM193k previously
3. Eligible applicants now also include Malaysian Television Broadcasters (including satellite TV, IPTV, etc).
4. Multiple submissions: Series can be grouped/bundled together as a single application if it has the same title (can be different versions/language) and is produced concurrently/consequentially.
5. Domestic Flights/travel will also be QMPE. International flights can be subject to certain requirements.
6. Process: Applications are to be sent to Studio Film Office directly, rather than via FINAS.
7. Cash Rebate: The rebate quantum remains unchanged at 30% of QMPE for scripted, and 20% for reality programming. There is no project cap, but there is an annual cap, so early submissions are encouraged.