KUALA LUMPUR, May 28 ― The list of goods affected by the Goods and Services Tax (GST) will be released early next year, said the Customs and Excise Department's GST unit director, Subromaniam Tholasy.
He said the department would work with the domestic trade, cooperatives and consumerism ministry which intended to issue the list, three months before and three months after the GST was implemented.
“Called the 'Shopper's Guide', the list will make it easier for consumers to work out the difference in prices.
“If it is released too early, it is feared that there may be changes to the basic cost of goods, such as the cost of production, which may change in the next five or six months,” he said.
Tholasy was speaking to reporters after giving a talk on the GST at the Universiti Malaya public forum organised by the International Institute of Public Policy and Management (Inpuma) here today.
He said the list of goods would cover items which were popular among consumers.
He also suggested that institutes of higher learning in the country organise forums and seminars to explain the GST so that correct information on the tax system could be given to students and lecturers.
“Forums such as these are needed to ensure that university students and lecturers are not influenced by information about the GST given by irresponsible parties.
“These forums can influence the people to accept the tax system,” noted Tholasy.
The GST, announced by Prime Minister and Finance Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in the 2014 Budget, will be implemented on April 1, next year, replacing the sales and services tax.
The new tax system fixes a six per cent tax, as compared to the sales and services tax which amount to 16 per cent. ― Bernama
