Retailer believes sales will pick up after June 1
KOTA KINABALU: A shop proprietor here, Edmond Fung Shee Thien believes that sales will pick up with the abolishment of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) starting on June 1.
Fung said many sales representatives he knows have hit the brakes on ordering goods, while consumers are waiting till June to do their shopping.
He said the abolishment of GST is certainly good news for consumers, adding that the move would not have negative impact on businesses as they are only responsible for collecting the tax for the government.
However, Fung said businesses may not be able to catch up with the change from GST to the Sales and Services Tax (SST) in the short term as it involves modification to their point of sale (POS) software.
“Technicians will not be readily available considering all businesses now have to change their (POS) system.”
As a temporary measure, Fung said his shop New Teo Seng would either lower or deduct six per cent off the prices of products before its system is updated.
“We will give rebates on our products, except the zero-rated goods.”
Fung said the distinction between GST and SST is that GST is imposed on every step of the distribution channel from the manufacturer to the consumer.
He said SST is only imposed as a manufacturer supplies its goods to distributors.
In other word, Fung said GST is imposed on the retail price of products whereas SST is imposed on the factory price of products.
“Whether it is GST or SST, the most important thing is that the tax collected must be spent on development and improving the wellbeing of the people,” he stressed.