KUALA LUMPUR: Almost 90% of complaints on the goods and services tax (GST) from consumers have been dealt with.

Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Minister Datuk Seri Hasan Malek told the Dewan Rakyat that as of May 31, a total of 1,192 cases were recorded during checks at 393,335 premises, with goods worth RM193,885.15 seized and RM181,020 in compound collected.

“Five cases under Section 21 of the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act 2011 were settled in court, four cases are still pending and three others offered compound,” he said in response to a supplementary question from Barisan Nasional Jelebu member of parliament Datuk Zainudin Ismail.

The cases were filed following complaints from consumers, he said, adding that the action taken also reflected the government’s seriousness to address complaints on the implementation of the GST.

“Indeed, we need information, complaints from consumers for us to take action as we have not enough enforcement personnel,” he added.

Hasan said a total of 21,591 complaints and enquiries were received by the Anti-Profiteering Operations Centre, set up on March 30, though various channels, including eAduan, social media and telephone calls as of May 31.

As for complaints on the GST on telephone prepaid cards and GST IDs, they were channelled to the Finance Ministry for follow-up action.

The ministry, he said, launched the MyKira GST application on March 30 for consumers to check on prices of goods, and it had so far recorded 91,230 users. — Bernama

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on June 9, 2015.