This guide is general information for Malaysian employers, not official HRD Corp advice or legal advice. Processes, rates and forms are set by HRD Corp and can change — always verify against the official links at the end before you act.
HRD Corp (Human Resource Development Corporation, formerly HRDF) runs Malaysia’s statutory training-levy scheme under the PSMB Act 2001. Registered employers pay a monthly levy, and that money sits in a pool you can claim back to fund employee training from registered providers. Think of it less as a tax and more as a pre-paid training budget you are entitled to spend. Below is the whole process end to end.
The HRD Corp claim journey, end to end
First: are you required to register?
Whether registration (and the levy) is compulsory depends on how many Malaysian employees you have and whether your sector is covered by the PSMB Act. HRD Corp — not the employer — makes the final eligibility decision, but the thresholds are clear:
Who must register under the PSMB Act 2001
Failing to register when you are required to is an offence — penalties run up to RM10,000, up to a year’s imprisonment, or both. If you are unsure, submit Form 1 and let HRD Corp confirm your status. Full walkthrough in our HRD Corp registration & levy guide.
Stage 1 — Register and start paying the levy
Register your company via HRD Corp’s portal by completing Form 1. HRD Corp reviews the application (typically within 30 days) and emails you a confirmation plus access to e-TRiS, the online system where everything else happens. Once registered, the levy is due monthly:
Stage 2 — Apply for the grant BEFORE training
This is the step employers most often get wrong: you must apply for and receive grant approval before the training begins — HRD Corp requires the application at least one (1) day before the course start date, and in practice you want more buffer. Most corporate AI training runs under the HRD Corp Claimable Courses (SBL-KHAS) scheme, where an approved grant lets HRD Corp pay the registered provider directly, so your upfront cost is minimal.
You apply in e-TRiS and attach three core documents: the invoice/quotation, the trainer’s profile, and the course content/schedule. The full click-by-click sequence is in our HRD Corp grant application guide.
Stage 3 — Run the training
Employees attend the approved programme. Keep clean records from day one: attendance sheets, and the evaluation forms participants fill in — these become mandatory claim evidence. For classroom or virtual training, make sure attendance is captured for every session.
Stage 4 — Submit your claim (within 6 months), step by step
After training completes, submit the claim in e-TRiS. The hard deadline: since 1 August 2019, claims must be submitted within six (6) months of the training completion date — miss it and the money is forfeit. First-time claimants must first complete e-Disbursement registration (your bank details) so HRD Corp can pay you. Here is the exact submission flow, screen by screen.
Want the actual e-TRiS screens? The mock-ups below are simplified illustrations of what to click — not real portal captures. For genuine e-TRiS screenshots, use HRD Corp’s own step guides: Steps to submit a claim (with screenshots), Process Flow for Claim Application (PDF), and the SBL-KHAS claim helper (PDF).
HRD Corp claim submission flow
Step 1 — Log in and (first claim) set up e-Disbursement
Sign in to your employer e-TRiS account. If this is your first claim, complete e-Disbursement registration first — it records the bank account HRD Corp pays into. Do it once, ahead of time, so it never holds up a payment.
Step 2 — Open Applications → Claim → Submit Claim With Grants
From the Applications menu choose Claim, then Submit Claim With Grants — the route for a claim tied to an approved grant.
Step 3 — Select the approved, completed grant
Only approved grants whose training is complete appear here. Find yours and click Claim in the Action column.
Step 4 — Verify grant, trainer and attendance
Give the contact officer’s details, then check the pre-filled grant information and confirm the trainer and trainee attendance data the training provider has updated.
Step 5 — Enter claim amounts and upload documents
Key in the claim amount for each allowable item (within the Allowable Cost Matrix) and upload your supporting documents — the tax invoice, receipt/proof of payment, evaluation forms, the signed JD14 claim declaration and the T3 attendance forms.
Step 6 — Complete the declaration and Save & Submit
Fill in the employer declaration, tick the pledge box, and click Save & Submit. You get an on-screen confirmation, and a letter of approval follows by email.
Once submitted, HRD Corp reviews the claim and emails a letter of approval; the claim and payment are commonly processed within about seven (7) working days of approval when the documents are complete and within the Allowable Cost Matrix. Prefer a standalone, focused version of this walkthrough? See our dedicated HRD Corp claim submission guide.
Stage 5 — Approval and disbursement
Once submitted, HRD Corp reviews the claim; a letter of approval is emailed to you, and the claim and payment are processed — commonly cited as around seven (7) working days after approval, provided everything is in order. Under SBL-KHAS the disbursement typically goes to the provider you were billed by; under standard SBL you are reimbursed after paying first.
SBL-KHAS vs SBL — which route?
Both are HRD Corp schemes; the difference is cash flow:
- SBL-KHAS (HRD Corp Claimable Courses): apply for the grant first; once approved, HRD Corp pays the registered provider directly, so there is little or no upfront cost to you. This is the smoother route for most corporate training.
- SBL (Skim Bantuan Latihan): you pay the provider first, then claim the cost back from your levy afterwards.
Training jointly with another company: SLB and the Surat Pecahan Kos
There is a third route worth knowing if you want to share a course with other companies: the Skim Latihan Bersama (SLB), or Joint Training Scheme. SLB lets two or more HRD Corp-registered employers run a single in-house joint training together — with an internal or external trainer — and split the cost. It is handy when no single company has enough participants to justify a private class.
An SLB session has two roles:
- Organiser — the company that arranges the trainer, venue and materials, and prepares the cost breakdown.
- Participating employers — the other registered companies whose staff join the session.
The training cost is divided by the number of participating employers and trainees (minimum 2, maximum 40 pax across the companies), and each employer claims its own share from its levy.
What is the Surat Pecahan Kos (Cost Breakdown Letter)?
The Surat Pecahan Kos — the Cost Breakdown Letter, also called the SLB Letter — is the document that makes an SLB claim possible. It is a compulsory letter that the organiser prepares and distributes to every participating employer, setting out the cost breakdown and the number of trainees for each company. Each participant attaches it to their own grant application as proof of how the shared cost is apportioned — without it, participants cannot apply.
Two practical rules for SLB:
- The organiser must submit its claim before the participating employers submit theirs.
- Applications need the joint-arrangement documentation, invoices/quotations from all parties, and the Surat Pecahan Kos.
For the official rules, see HRD Corp’s Skim Latihan Bersama (SLB) scheme guide, the SLB overview, and the SBL / SLB claim helper (PDF).
What you can claim — the Allowable Cost Matrix
HRD Corp caps what each cost line can claim through its Allowable Cost Matrix (ACM), updated periodically. Course fees and related costs must fall within the matrix or the excess is disallowed. As an indication from the 2026 matrix, common ceilings include trainer fees up to ~RM200/hour, meals ~RM15–RM25/pax, and venue up to ~RM6,000/day. See our dedicated HRD Corp Allowable Cost Matrix guide for the full breakdown — and always check the current ACM (linked below), because rates and categories change.
Your document checklist
Have these ready across the two stages:
- At grant application: invoice/quotation of course fee (and transport if any), trainer’s profile, and course content/schedule.
- At claim submission: the signed JD14 claim declaration, T3 attendance forms, participant evaluation forms, the tax invoice, and proof of payment/receipt — plus any other document HRD Corp requests for verification.
Two forms you will hear about: JD14 and T3
Two HRD Corp forms sit at the heart of an SBL-KHAS claim, and it pays to know them:
- JD14 — the joint claim declaration between the training provider and the employer. The provider completes it, then the employer’s authorised person (Director, HR Manager or finance PIC) checks, signs and stamps it. It can only be finalised after the training is completed, and it is a core supporting document for the claim.
- T3 — the official attendance form trainees sign during the sessions. Each entry carries the participant’s full name, IC number, employer name, nationality, gender and signature. The T3 is uploaded to e-TRiS as proof that the training actually took place.
A registered provider prepares the JD14 and T3 for you — your job is to check, sign/stamp the JD14 and make sure attendance on the T3 is complete. See HRD Corp’s guidelines for Form JD14 and its claim supporting-document reference.
Why claims get rejected (and how to avoid it)
- Applying too late — the grant must be approved before training starts, and the claim filed within 6 months of completion.
- Incomplete or mismatched documents — names, dates and amounts across invoice, attendance and receipt must agree.
- Fees above the ACM — anything over the allowable ceiling is disallowed.
- Weak attendance evidence — missing sessions or unsigned sheets.
- No e-Disbursement details on a first claim, so payment cannot be made.
Choosing an HRD Corp-registered provider removes most of this friction — the programme is pre-approved and the provider handles the trainer and course-content paperwork with you. Every AITraining2U course is registered under SBL-KHAS.
Official HRD Corp resources
This guide summarises official material for convenience. Always confirm the current rules on HRD Corp’s own channels — they are the authority and details change: