Newspapers and mobile phone top-up charges are exempted from the goods and services tax (GST) and anyone mistakenly taxed for the items can obtain a refund with proof of purchase, The Star reported today.
The daily reported that Customs Department director-general Datuk Seri Khazali Ahmad attributed the confusion over the zero-rated items to a computer glitch and said traders should address any shortcomings immediately.
“If we find that they (traders) intentionally avoid implementing the GST properly, we will take action. We have a mechanism to identify who intentionally or unintentionally fails to implement GST correctly,” he was quoted saying.
The Star also reported that there were several outlets which sold newspapers with GST and a convenience store chain had been warned to adjust their calculation system accordingly immediately.
In the same report, Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Chua Tee Yong stated that he had received several complaints from the public who had paid 6% GST for newspapers bought from convenience stores.
He also urged people to keep their receipts and get refunds if they were wrongly charged for any zero-rated items via Facebook.
“Newspapers are zero-rated. This means GST should not be imposed on newspapers bought anywhere,” he said.
Convenience store chain 7-Eleven Malaysia Holdings Berhad also released a statement, apologising for a “system error” that caused the mistake and promised to revise the prices after having withdrawn its newspaper products from the stands.
“For anyone who was impacted today, we would appreciate if you could contact us using Private Message via 7-Eleven Malaysia’s official Facebook page or e-mailmarketing@7eleven.com.my with your contact details (e-mail and mobile number) for us to be in touch to further rectify the matter,” said 7-Eleven.
Customs GST director Datuk Subromaniam Tholasy told The Star that several telecommunication companies were under investigation for going against Customs Department instructions by increasing the prepaid top-up card prices by 6%.
He said that the price of top-up cards for prepaid services had already included the 6% sales and services tax (SST) and, with GST replacing SST, the tax rate remained the same.
“For a top-up card that costs RM10, the 6% tax is already absorbed so it should not be increased to RM10.60," he said, adding that letters had been sent to all telcos informing them not to increase their prices after GST.
"However, one or two telcos have gone against our instructions, so these companies will be investigated,” Subromaniam reportedly said at a press conference at the finance ministry.
The Star reported that two of Malaysia’s largest telcos, Maxis and DiGi, had confirmed increasing their prepaid reload from RM10 to RM10.60.
In the FAQ section of its official website, Maxis stated that its customers had not been charged for SST in the prepaid reloads previously.
A DiGi spokesman was quoted as saying, “Since prepaid is neither zero-rated nor GST-exempt, we are required by law to levy and collect 6% GST. In the past, the prices of prepaid products did not include SST.”
The Star cited industry sources as saying that SST was previously absorbed by telcos in a bid to increase the adoption of prepaid plans.
- TMI
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