GOODS sold under the new sales and services tax will be taxed at 0%, 5% or 10% while services will be taxed across the board at 6%, the Customs Department said today.

“Although the SST bill has yet to be passed in Parliament, due to the wide impact of the new tax regime, we’re announcing some details ahead of time,” said T. Subromaniam, director-general of Customs.

Preliminary information about the new SST was uploaded on the Customs website earlier today.

According to the website, taxable services include food and beverage, electricity tariffs, insurance, hotel, clubs and gaming. 

The FAQ on sales tax and list of exempted goods, however, were listed on the website but inaccessible at present.

Subromaniam said the department has yet to finalise the list of goods to be taxed at 5% and 10% respectively.

He assured the public that most goods will be taxed at 0% when it comes into effect on September 1.

“Compared to the GST, the scope of tax is smaller and less complicated, plus tax registration and reporting can be done online, so it would be convenient for the business owners.”

About 100 business owners attended the SST briefing in Kelana Jaya today.

The department will start giving briefings nationwide at its offices from July 24 onwards, he said.

On whether the SST will increase the people’s financial burden, especially the low-income groups (B40), he said, it is unlikely.

He added that the department with the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry will be monitoring the situation closely.

“Inflation can be caused by many factors – supply, demand, environmental etc, it is not just because of tax collection.”

Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng previously said that the government expects to collect RM4 billion from SST this year when it is implemented in September.

Lim said this pales in comparison with the RM21 billion the government would have collected from the goods and services tax zero-rated since June 1. – July 19, 2018.