Selangor Land Registry introduces biometric security trials for high value land purchase transactions
23 March 2020
Pejabat Tanah dan Galian Selangor (The Selangor Land and Mines Registry) (‘Registry’) has announced, vide its
letter dated 26 February 2020 that biometric fingerprint scanning will be implemented on a trial basis from 2 March 2020 for transactions at the Registry which involve the transfer of land valued at RM5 million and above, irrespective of the category of land use and express conditions of the land (‘Affected Transactions’).
The purpose of introducing biometric fingerprint scanning is two-fold –
- to control and prevent the perpetration of fraud and criminal activities in cases involving the transfer of high value land; and
- to improve existing procedures in an effort to upgrade and refine the services of the Registry.
Under this new measure, every vendor and purchaser in Affected Transactions must personally attend at the Registry to undergo biometric fingerprint scanning. They are not required to be present at the same time and may attend at the Registry separately.
The vendor and the purchaser in Affected Transactions can have their fingerprints scanned at the relevant counter at the Registry on Mondays to Thursdays from 8.30 a.m. to 3.30 p.m. They are required to submit the following documents at the counter –
- Memorandum of Transfer in Form 14A of the National Land Code 1965 (‘MOT’);
- a copy of the Issue Document of Title in respect of the land; and
- the original Identity Card of the Vendor / Purchaser,
(collectively, ‘Relevant Documents’)
If the Relevant Documents are deemed complete, the party’s identity will be verified by biometric fingerprint scanning and upon such verification, the party will receive a vendor’s or purchaser’s Verification Document (as applicable). The Verification Document must be enclosed with the MOT when the latter is presented for registration. According to the Registry, the verification process will be completed within 10 minutes from the queue number being called.
Comments
The implementation of biometric fingerprint scanning by the Registry is welcomed as there have been one too many cases of fraudulent land transactions. This new measure is likely to help deter fraudsters and forgers from perpetuating such crimes.
During the trial period, the Registry only mandates biometric fingerprint scanning for transfers of land valued at RM5 million and above. However, it is possible that the Registry may implement this new measure for all land transactions if the trial is proven to be successful. It also remains to be seen whether other land registries and offices in Malaysia will also follow suit.
There are, however, several issues which the Registry will have to clarify as soon as possible.
- The Registry should clearly state whether the value of the land is based on the purchase price stated in the MOT or on the valuation pursuant to adjudication.
- As biometric fingerprint scanning can only be conducted on those individuals holding Malaysian national identity cards, can it be assumed that only individual vendors and purchasers who are Malaysians or permanent residents are required to comply with these new procedures?
- The Registry should clarify whether the new procedures apply to a party in an Affected Transaction who holds a Malaysian national identity card but is based overseas. The imposition of this requirement in such circumstances would undoubtedly delay and increase the cost of a transaction.
- The Registry should provide guidance for cases where a party’s fingerprint, particularly in the case of senior citizens, cannot be read by the biometric fingerprint scanner.
- It is unclear whether authorised signatories of companies will also be required to carry out biometric fingerprint scanning.