PUTRAJAYA, April 9 — Consumers will always come first, the government said today amid ongoing negotiations with telecommunications firms to leave out the 6 per cent Goods and Services Tax (GST) from reload coupons for mobile phones.

Amid public complaints over the price hike for mobile phone top-up cards, the Customs Department’s GST director Datuk Subromaniam Tholasi conceded there has been no definitive outcome yet from its meetings with the companies, but gave an assurance that it will seek a solution that will benefit users.

"Whether or not we would return to the normal rate, well, I can say that is what we want," he told a press conference here.

"What I can say is that the consumers will not lose," he added.

Several mobile phone carriers increased the price of their prepaid reload coupons when the GST kicked in at a rate of 6 per cent on April 1 despite Putrajaya's previous assurance that the prices would stay the same.

Regulator Communications and Multimedia Consumer Forum of Malaysia (CFM) admitted in a statement on April 1 that the carriers are legally obliged to charge the 6 per cent tax on top of the coupons’ prices.

Subromaniam said that the 6 per cent GST rate imposed on telcos had prompted them to raise their prepaid reload coupons, which is why distributors are charging RM10.60 for their minimum top-up rate.

There are reports that many dealers have refused to sell reload coupons after users accused them of cheating by charging GST.

Subromaniam claimed the complaints have since dwindled and he expects the problem to be resolved within the next few days.

"The telcos are given a month to adjust. You can't expect everything to be adjusted immediately," he said.

The Customs official pointed out that the mobile carriers have already rectified the problem by giving extra airtime to users who had already bought GST-charged reload coupons.

Putrajaya is scheduled to meet with the companies to discuss the matter further next week.