Deputy finance minister Lim Hui Ying today clarified that the proposed expansion of the sales and service tax (SST) is still under discussion with stakeholders.
This comes after a spokesman from the ministry revealed that the planned expansion of the SST, which was supposed to be implemented on May 1, had been postponed so that its scope could be refined.
“When the ministry has updates on the matter, we will make the announcement,” Lim told reporters after the officiating ceremony of the Jelajah Mega e-Invois 2025 programme here.
Yesterday, The Star quoted the ministry spokesman as saying that the scope of the expanded SST was being refined.
The spokesman also said the Treasury had carried out engagements nationwide with various industry players as part of finalising the new SST scope and tax rates.
However, there have been calls from the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers, among others, for the expanded SST to be put on hold in view of the US’s tariffs on Malaysian imports.
While Donald Trump‘s administration has postponed the tariffs, including Malaysia’s 24% rate, Washington has maintained the 10% blanket duty on almost all US imports.
Earlier in her speech, Lim said that nearly 29,000 companies had implemented e-invoicing as of yesterday, involving 262 million transactions.
She said the achievement includes 5,400 taxpayers from the first phase and 12,600 taxpayers from the second phase who had adopted e-invoicing since January.
“This also includes more than 11,000 taxpayers from the third phase who have voluntarily implemented e-invoicing ahead of the mandatory start date on July 1,” she said.
The e-invoicing system was rolled out gradually from Aug 1 last year, starting with businesses with an annual turnover or revenue of more than RM100 million.
The second phase for businesses with turnovers exceeding RM25 million began on Jan 1 and the third phase on July 1, involving all types of businesses, including micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises.
