Small traders must register for GST: Ikhlas
Published on: Wednesday, January 28, 2015
Kuala Lumpur: Reports that claimed small traders are facing difficulty in registering their Goods and Services Tax (GST) with the excuse that they were not good with the computer and the time given to register was too short, are not logical. The Small and Medium Entrepreneurs Alliance (Ikhlas) and the Malay Merchants and Entrepreneurs Association want small and medium-scale entrepreneurs (PKS) to use all existing resources and not give excuses to avoid registering for the GST. Such excuses should not be given after the process of registration is allowed to be done online at the special website, gst.customs.gov.my, or sending the forms to the Malaysian Royal Customs Department (JKDM), with the deadline for compulsory registration given until Dec 31 last year.
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Ikhlas President, Mohamad Ridzuan Abdullah said PKS traders who must register the GST were those whose businesses had an annual sales return of more than RM500,000, making them successful entities. "It is impossible that companies with a turnover of more than RM500,000 do not have staff who are expert in the latest technology. If before this, they can manage their accounts and expenditure, they should not give the excuse that they do not know how to use computer software for the GST," he said Tuesday.He was commenting on a report in an English newspaper that PKS traders were facing difficulty using the computer to register the GST.Mohamad Ridzuan said the JKDM had also sent officers all over the country to give information and help traders register.
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As such, the excuse that some traders were not computer literate and faced difficulties registering the GST could not be accepted especially in today's era of technology development."We understand that some traders may not know how to use the computer but they too have to abide by current changes. Try to find a way and get the assistance of the Customs who have been assigned to help traders who do not understand the GST," he said.
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Mohamad Ridzuan also said so far, Ikhlas had not received any complaints from PKS traders facing difficulty registering online. President of the Malay Traders and Industrialists Association of Malaysia (Perdasama), Datuk Moehamad Izat Emir said the registration deadline of Dec 31 was sufficient. He said with the many announcements on the media as well as JKDM's efforts throughout the country to raise awareness as well as to talk about the implementation of the GST should have helped traders understand it. "Each day we see and hear GST registration advertisements in the media. The Customs have also gone round the country holding briefing sessions for the traders. Maybe because they are afraid of getting fined that they are giving this excuse," he said. – BernamaDeputy Finance Minister Datuk Ahmad Maslan had earlier said based on information in the Inland Revenue Department's database, there are still 50,000 companies which have not yet registered with the GST.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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