Consumers have a choice, so spend wisely, says Fomca
KUALA LUMPUR: Consumers should spend wisely if they do not want to be burdened by the Sales and Services Tax (SST), coming into force on Saturday, although some basic essential items are exempted from the tax.
Federation of Malaysian Consumers Association (Fomca) deputy president Mohd Yusof Abdul Rahman said consumers should understand the SST concept and be able to differentiate it from the Goods and Services Tax (GST) that was introduced in 2015.
“Prices of certain goods may be beyond their (consumers) expectation. Hence (it’s vital) for them to understand and know the goods that are subject to the tax and those that are not,” he said.
Yusof said the choice would be in the hands of consumers whether or not to spend as some essential items would be taxed, especially those categorised as luxury items.
Traders, he said, should reflect on their responsibility by displaying the price of goods sold at their premises.
“For restaurants that impose a service tax, there should be a notice to inform their patrons that SST is imposed at the premises,” he added.
He also advised consumers to keep receipts of their purchases to detect any increase in prices of goods after SST.
“Keeping receipts should be made a habit to check on abuse by traders and to facilitate reports by consumers to Fomca or the Customs Department.”
Customs director-general Datuk Seri Subromaniam Tholasy said the SST rate and the list of goods that were exempted from the tax would be released soon.
He said the list was being finalised and would not be too different from the one uploaded at https://mysst.customs.gov.my.
Based on the list, essential items such as drinking water, flour, egg and several types of fish will be exempted from SST, while electrical appliances, such as washing machines and refrigerators, will have a 10 per cent SST.
Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said traders who did not register their businesses for SST before Sept 1 would not face any action by the government if they had valid reasons.
He said the ministry was prepared to give the traders some leeway, but the traders were warned not to misuse it.
Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Muhammad V has given his consent to implement SST, paving the way for the tax to come into effect on Saturday.
The king’s approval on Friday last week came after the Dewan Rakyat and the Dewan Negara gave the green light on Aug 9 and Aug 20, respectively.