Guan Eng: Govt will honour GST refund payments

Minister Lim Guan Eng has given his assurance that the government will honour outstanding Goods and Services Tax (GST) refund payments to companies.

He said the government was committed to paying the refunds despite RM19.4 billion missing from the government’s consolidated fund.

Speaking during the question-and-answer session in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday, Lim was asked about issues concerning the Sales and Services Tax (SST).

Earlier, Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan (Pas-Kota Baru) asked the Finance Ministry on how many companies had been registered under SST as of September this year, and what action would be taken against those who failed to register and avoided paying tax.

In a follow-up question, Takiyuddin asked about the GST.

However, Lim replied that he was prepared only for SST-related questions, but would try to answer based on his knowledge.

Lim said as of last month, 92,682 businesses had been registered for the SST.

Of these, 57,298 were registered under the Service Tax while 35,384 were registered under the Sales Tax.

He said traders who failed to register under SST were committing a crime and could be punished with a fine not exceeding RM30,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years and/or both.

“As for traders who refuse to pay taxes, they can be subjected to a compound amount not exceeding 50 per cent of the amount of the maximum fine, upon conviction.”

Lim said this was based on Section 95 of the Tax Act Sales 2018 and Section 80 of the Services Tax Act 2018.