SEPANG, Oct 16 (Bernama) — The Government is considering to label items exempted from the Goods and Services Tax (GST), using different colour stickers to avoid confusion among consumers.
Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Minister Datuk Seri Hasan Malek said the use of coloured stickers on GST-exempted items will prevent traders from taking advantage by raising prices.
“This is a good idea. We will discuss how to implement it and will announce the results at another time,” he told reporters after visiting business premises at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (KLIA2) here today.
Previously, former Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) president Tan Sri Zainal Rampak had proposed that the government label items which were exempted from GST.
When tabling Budget 2015, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced that over 900 items were in the basket of goods not affected by GST. The list of items related to GST was gazetted on Monday.
The GST will be implemented on April 1, next year and items exempted from the tax are diesel, liquid petroleum gas, all local and imported fruits, white bread, wholewheat bread, coffee, tea, yellow noodle, laksa and rice vermicelli.
The use of coloured price stickers has long been implemented for controlled items during festive seasons.
Asked if the Government will add to the list of items exempted from the tax, Hasan said the government would continuously review the list to protect the rights of consumers and traders.
On ‘Ops Harga’ throughout the year, Hasan said the Government had taken action against 4,960 traders for various offences.
“The total value of confiscation during the operation was RM920,429.55 and compounds were worth RM250,130,” he said, adding that 1,327,974 inspections were carried out throughout the year.
— BERNAMA
