KUALA LUMPUR, April 18 — The goods and services tax (GST) compliance in Malaysia is good even though there is still a need to continue to promote tax education.
Royal Malaysian Customs Department Deputy Director, GST Division Mohamad Sabri Saad said there were about 470,000 GST-registered entities, including individuals, companies, partnerships and joint ventures.
It is mandatory for an entity operating a business to be registered for GST where the taxable turnover exceeds the threshold of RM500,000.
“Most of the taxpayers are small and medium enterprises. The GST is based on returns declared and we would inform those affected if there is any red flag triggered by our system,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the Malaysian Tax Conference 2018 here today.
The two-day conference, which started yesterday, gathered almost 500 attendees made up of tax practitioners, tax managers, tax agents, chief financial officers, finance directors, chartered accountants, and academicians.
During a panel discussion on “Conflict Between GST and Income Tax”, a proposal was made for a merger between the Royal Malaysian Customs Department and Inland Revenue Board (IRB), to promote audit efficiency and interaction between the two authorities in line with the practice adopted by other countries.
Mohamad Sabri said even though the merger idea has always been on the cards, there was no further development.
He said however, the Customs was conducting a study on a proposal to turn the department into a corporate body.
“In terms of a joint audit, we have an MoU with IRB,” he said. — Bernama
