KUALA LUMPUR, July 10 — The Youth and Sports Ministry will organise a forum specifically for sports practitioners, national sports associations and sponsors who are unsure about the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

Its minister, Khairy Jamaluddin, told Malay Mail the proposed forum is to help correct misunderstandings.

Malaysport had thrice approached the minister when GST came into law on April 1 to find out how it would effect sports associations and sponsors but was brushed off.

Khairy has now finally admitted there are still many who are unsure about the tax.

“Even though the Ministry of Finance is responsible for all educational issues related to GST, I feel it’s better for us to conduct a separate forum, or workshop,” Khairy said.

“This is something I look forward to, and will discuss with the Sports Commissioner on how we can make it happen.

“There are still a lot of sports associations and corporate companies as well as sponsors who are in the dark about the impact of GST.”

Khairy emphasised it is important to have the forum as a way to iron out the misunderstanding especially when organising events or competitions.

Since GST came into effect on April 1, many national sports associations have asked how it would affect quality and quantity of sponsorships. They were also unsure whether it was necessary for them to register for GST. 

The associations discovered sponsors had to incur six per cent tax for sponsorships, which in turn made them reluctant to come forward to support events.