Kedah Customs targets 580 potential applicants to register for GST this year

ALOR SETAR: The Kedah Customs Department is aiming to get 580 potential applicants statewide to register for the Goods and Services Tax (GST) this year.

State customs director Datuk Johari Alifiah said through operations, the department had enlisted 44 per cent or 259 individuals and companies from the number recorded as eligible to register for the GST under the GST Act 2014.

“The department knows the companies or individuals who are qualified to register for the GST and we will go down to the ground to meet the traders to ask them to sign up immediately,” he told reporters after launching the ‘Ops Penyata GST 03’ ( GST03 Statement Operation) here yesterday.

According to Section 20 of the GST Act 2014, registration for GST is compulsory for companies and individuals doing business and whose taxable turnover of supplies for 12 months exceeds the threshold of RM500,000. There are about 14,000 GST registrants in Kedah, so far. Meanwhile, Johari said as many as 578 companies in Alor Setar had failed to submit 930 GST statements from the year 2015 to March this year.

“It involves various sectors and the majority are from the retailing sector, food catering and general merchandise ... most of them gave the reason that the change of staff in the accounting section as a main reason for failing to submit the GST statements,” he said. — Bernama