NO UNIFORMITY IN PRICES
Traders refusing to lower prices, says ministry
THE zero-rating of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), which came into effect yesterday, saw a lack of uniformity with regards to prices, especially raw goods prices.
Although the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry launched Op Catut 4.0 nationwide, some traders were still refusing to lower their prices, arguing that their goods were “old stock”.
Some failed to change old price tags, leading to confusion among consumers.
In Kelantan, the price of electronic items and essential goods at Pasar Besar Siti Khadijah remained the same, with traders claiming that they needed to “clear out stock”, thus selling items at their original prices.
One trader, who wished to be known only as Lee, 45, said he was selling his electrical items at old prices, including Samsung 40-inch televisions, which was retailing for RM1,299.
In Perak, Health, Consumerism, Civil Society, National Integration and Human Resource Committee Chairman A. Sivanesan said traders were given until June 30 to standardise their pricing.
“The onus is on them to ensure that the final price paid by consumers is zero-rated GST.”
In Negri Sembilan, the price of raw goods and food saw a surge on the first day of the zero-rated GST implementation.
Checks by the New Straits Times Press (NSTP) at Pasar Besar Seremban showed that the price of local beef rose to RM36 compared with RM35 three days ago, while the price of mutton rose to RM28 compared with RM26.90.
The price of mackerel rose 10 sen from RM15.90, while chicken chop went up to RM17 from RM15 at a restaurant in Templer.
In Melaka, the state govern- ment said the zero-rating of the GST succeeded in reducing the people’s cost of living.
State Unity, Non-governmental Organisations, Human Resources and Consumer Affairs Committee Chairman G. Saminathan said the move shifted power back to consumers and brought more profit to traders.
In Selangor, the state Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry urged traders to indicate “before and after” prices on their goods.
The state’s ministry deputy enforcement director, Datuk Iskandar Halim Sulaiman, said this was to ensure that there was no confusion, as well as to help consumers.
In Sabah, no change was recorded in the price of raw goods, such as eggs, chicken and vegetables. This was because the prices of those items were already exempted from GST.
Checks by NSTP at supermarkets in Kota Kinabalu and Penampang showed that the prices on display were the same as before.
In Johor, eight ministry offices in the state and its districts were instructed to open an operations centre that would serve as a complaints and investigation centre on traders who did not comply with the price ruling.
State ministry chief Khairul Anwar Bachok said to date, there had been no cases of price manipulation by traders.
He said traders needed time to change their prices to pre-GST rates.
In Terengganu, state ministry officers adopted a tough stance against errant traders who refused to comply with the zerorated GST ruling.
State ministry chief Saharuddin Mohd Kia said his team, with the state Customs Department, were monitoring and checking all 380 GST-registered outlets.
In Perlis, the price of electronic goods were the most visibly affected by the zero-rated GST ruling.
Checks by NSTP at several retail outlets in the state showed that items, such as televisions, car accessories and daily household goods, experienced major price reductions.