All smooth sailing as SST commences

Going’s good: A sign displaying the implementation of SST at a supermarket.

PETALING JAYA: It was a smooth transition on the first day of the Sales and Service Tax making a comeback, with no major changes in the prices of goods and essential items.

Businesses faced no problems switching their systems to affect the SST, which was implemented after a three-month tax holiday declared by the Pakatan Harapan government.

The new government zero-rated the Goods and Services Tax on June 1.

Most of the supermarkets and restaurants maintained their prices yesterday as they were using old stocks obtained during the tax holiday.

The consumers, too, did not have much problem adjusting to the tax change.

Thillai Govindrajin, 40, who works in the logistics sector, said he did not feel the change in prices but hoped that the authorities would be transparent and show if there was any difference in prices for items sold in supermarkets.

“It will be easier for consumers to see if there is any difference. However, we understand that it takes a bit of time to switch over to the new system.

“We hope that the prices of goods will not go up too much,” he said here yesterday.

Muji Khan, a supermarket supervisor in Taman Tun Dr Ismail, said the outlet would maintain the prices of its products because it had yet to receive any notice from its headquarters to revise the pricing.

“We are still waiting for further information from suppliers on the new prices.

“At the moment, we are using the same price,” he said.

Malaysian Retail Chain Association president Datuk Gary Chua said it did not receive any complaints from members and the switchover to the new system had been relatively glitch-free.

“It is just a simple switch back to the old system, so there is no issue. Unlike GST, we had to do a lot of monitoring and some of us even needed more manpower. It also cost a bit more due to the software change,” he said.

Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations deputy president Mohd Yusof Abdul Rahman urged consumers to arm themselves with information on the market prices so they could make smart choices.

“If they feel they are cheated, please lodge a report with the relevant bodies,” he said.

Customs Department director-general Datuk Seri Subromaniam Tholasy said in general the transition had been smooth across all sectors.

“For the import side, it went smoothly because we had updated the system at midnight from the zero-rated GST to SST.

His department, he added, would embark on Ops Bimbing to educate business operators on the compliance with the new ruling, instead of going hard on them.

“There will be no hard enforcement, just visits to advise them so they understand the system and can transition smoothly,” he said.

In Penang, Sunshine Wholesale Mart Sdn Bhd retail operations director Yee Kam Ming said its stores still sold goods at zero-rated GST prices pending quotations from manufacturers.

“We are still awaiting the latest prices from manufacturers and selling our present stocks at the old prices.

“By the end of this month, we should know the new pricing and adjust accordingly,” he said.

Checks at several malls found that shopping activity had slowed somewhat after the last-minute rush on Friday before SST kicked in. Some businesses offered to absorb the tax for their items.- Star