PUTRAJAYA, April 13 — The Domestic Trade, Co-operatives and Consumerism Ministry today conceded there are no laws compelling businesses to display signs stating that they collect a service charge, but continued to insist firms must do so.

The ministry’s secretary-general Datuk Seri Alias Ahmad said, however, the new requirement to display the signs were just an “interim” step until authorities and businesses develop a permanent solution.

“For the interim solution, we will ensure premises display a signage to say that they impose a service charge.

“The ministry is in the process to regulate this. My officer is discussing with the A-G’s Chambers on the signage. Once that is agreed, we will inform that they have to display the sign,” he told reporters at a joint press conference with Customs Department’s GST division director Datuk T. Subromaniam here.

Employees who are not union members will have to work out an agreement with their employers to either include the service charge as part of their package or to follow to the minimum wage, Alias said.

He had previously said restaurants can only collect a 10 per cent service charge if they have a collective agreement with their workers.

The former immigration director-general also encouraged traders to display prices before and after GST to clear the confusion among consumers.

Meanwhile, Subromaniam said the Customs Department has submitted 13 investigation papers regarding offences in implementing GST to the Attorney-General’s Chambers and he hopes that the cases will be brought to court as early as this week.

He said some of the offences include businesses that impose the 6 per cent GST but are not registered with the Customs Department.

If convicted, Subromaniam said the business owners can be fined up to RM30,000 or two years in jail or both, and the company will need to pay double of the collected “taxes” as penalty.