Last month, Malaysians were shocked to learn that the Goods and Services Tax (GST) will be imposed on 60 food items including potatoes, long beans,
bihun,
kuay teow, and spinach.
The announcement was met with some pretty major backlash from Malaysians as some of the items listed were actually basic food necessities. A few hours later, the government
announced the cancellation of the tax. Phew, thank goodness!
On Wednesday,
The Star reported that Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has announced some good news related to the GST –
four services will be treated as GST zero-rated supply.
The announcement was posted on his blog,
najibrazak.com.
The new status will commence effective
1 July.
The first service to be listed zero-rated is the exporting of goods.
"Firstly, prescribed services performed in connection with
goods for export where the service is supplied to
overseas customers,” he said in the statement.
“Secondly, prescribed services supplied in the
Free Zones, including
Licensed Manufacturing Warehouses (LMW), to
overseas customers.”
Another two services that are included are
research and development services provided for
overseas customers and
non-recurring expenditures incurred as
engineering expenses including
tools and machinery used in the
manufacturing process of goods.
We hope there will be more positive announcements regarding GST soon.