Caretaker international trade and industry minister Mustapa Mohamed has come out in defence of the goods and services tax (GST) relief granted to a Chinese firm in its procurement of the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL).
In a report by The Star, Mustapa said the government had not accorded any preferential treatment when it gave China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) the tax relief, as many government projects also enjoyed a similar benefit.
The caretaker minister, however, did not follow up his statement with examples of such government projects that have been granted GST relief.
Instead, he opined that claims of special treatment were made just to confuse the public.
"In fact, a few government projects have been given GST relief.
"It is the government's policy that certain projects will be given GST relief, not just projects from China," he was quoted saying during a press conference.
On Monday, Amanah vice-president Husam Musa had disclosed documents revealing the GST relief granted to CCCC including a certificate which stated the move was granted under Section 56(3)(a) of Goods and Services Tax Act 2014 which concerns the finance minister's power to grant GST relief.
This was later confirmed by Customs director-general Subromaniam Tholasy, who stated the measure was taken to reduce the ECRL implementation costs. - Mkini
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