KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 2 — Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng has clarified that dried fish and prawns will not be charged the Sales and Service Tax (SST).

The New Straits Times reported Lim as saying it was untrue that products such as preserved fish (ikan jeruk) and salted or dried fish (ikan kering/masin) would fall under the 5 per cent tax.

"There is a new SST list which everyone should check. If there is (a tax on dried fish and prawns) it may have been overlooked, or perhaps was imposed based on the previous proposal list,” he said at a press conference following an SST briefing and forum in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

Lim said the public ought to approach the ministry and propose to them any other items which they believe should be SST-exempt, adding the ministry will conduct reviews should the situation warrant it and which will be decided by the year’s end.

Similarly, the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry (KPDNHEP) will also head down to the ground to ensure no profiteering by traders occurs.

Also in attendance at the briefing was Customs Department director-general Datuk Seri Subromaniam Tholasy, who said his department will work in tandem with KPDNHEP to set recommended retail prices and stabilise prices.