Thursday 28 Mar 2024
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This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on June 1, 2018

KUALA LUMPUR: The government will need to look into refining the old sales and services tax (SST) law — the Sales Tax Act 1972 and the Service Tax Act 1975 — before reintroducing the SST in September. Baker Tilly Malaysia tax partner and Asia-Pacific leader Anand Chelliah said he hopes the re-implementation of the SST will be fine-tuned to suit current requirements.

“I think they (the government) would need to relook at the needs of Malaysians today, and see how they will shape the new laws and introduce it in September.

“In the past, there were a lot of grey areas in the application of service tax — for instance, the interpretation of taxable services under the act,” he told The Edge Financial Daily. The two acts were repealed when the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Act 2014 was introduced.

Chelliah, a speaker at Baker Tilly’s forum entitled “GST 6% To 0% — What Should I Do Now?”, yesterday said zero-rating the GST, effective today before implementing the SST on Sept 1, is a wise move.

“It allows the Royal Malaysian Customs Department to come and collect the [GST dues], and it also allows taxpayers to claim reliefs or refunds where possible,” he said.

 

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