Academic suggests Cabinet form committee on GST – Bernama

A Cabinet Committee on goods and services tax (GST) is crucial to resolve related issues before they could be misused by certain quarters, according to an academician.

University Utara Malaysia Islamic accounting lecturer Dr Ram Al Jaffri Saad said the committee should be set up immediately, more so as consumers were still trying to grasp the mechanics of GST.

He was commenting on the suggestion by Selangor Youth Council president Datuk Irmohizam Ibrahim for a cabinet committee on GST to be established to coordinate its implementation.

"Take for example, the Customs Department's GST decision on prepaid cards which differed with that of the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC)," he said.

He added the department should not be totally faulted but that there should be communication and cooperation between it and the telecommunication companies (telco).

"The telcos should meet and discuss with Customs on how their industry operates."

On April 29, the Customs said telcos had been directed to revert the prices for prepaid reload coupons to pre-GST rate by May 1.

On the same day, MCMC chairman Datuk Seri Dr Halim Shafie said prepaid cards would continue to be sold with GST.

Soon after, the department issued a statement postponing the directive to telcos to maintain the original price of the prepaid cards. – Bernama, May 4, 2015.