SST: Power tariffs expected to go up

Sarawak to seek exemption from Putrajaya, continue to assist domestic electricity users, assures Premier

KUCHING: Electricity tariffs in Sarawak are expected to increase in line with the implementation of the revised Sales and Service Tax (SST) from six per cent to eight per cent.

In stating this, Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg said the state has no option but to comply with the expected changes as the imposition of the tax is in force nationwide.

However, he said the state government will study the implications of the new rate from legal points of view, and the possibility for Sarawak to be given an exemption, while continuing to help domestic consumers through its own initiative.

“We have to follow the SST, but if we are given the exemption, then we can follow our own existing decision.

“We have to look at the tax implications from a legal point of view, but SST as a whole is for the whole country,” he said when met at the Hikmah Exchange here yesterday, a er witnessing the swearing-in of 31 councillors assigned to Gedong District Council.

Abang Johari was asked to clarify the payment of SST on electricity usage above 600kWh, since Sarawak has autonomy over electricity.

Sarawak’s electricity supply does not depend on the federal government but on state-owned Sarawak Energy Berhad.

The Ministry of Finance (MoF) last month announced that the revised SST, effective March

We have to follow the SST, but if we are given the exemption, then we can follow our own existing decision.

Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg

1, would only be applicable for electricity usage of above 600kWh which should not affect almost 85 per cent of users nationwide.

Water supply services would also be exempted from the tax, it added.

The MoF also said the increase of SST from six to eight per cent is expected to generate an estimated additional RM3 billion in revenue.

The Sarawak government had last year extended the electricity bill discount under the Bantuan Khas Sarawakku Sayang (BKSS) programme from July 1 to Dec 31, with rate reductions of up to 25 per cent for domestic consumers, 15 per cent for small commercial traders, and 10 per cent for small industrial traders.

The BKSS package was introduced in March 2020, when the first movement restriction was implemented in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.