Call to bring back 1 sen coins
Published on: Thursday, March 26, 2015
Kuala Lumpur: One of the most comical scenario during the run-up to the April 1 GST regime is the call by some businesses to bring back the 1 sen coins that Bank Negara took out of circulation some time back.Some of these businesses were among others, photocopy shops and photo developing shops that felt that the cut-throat competitive environment and the small margin of profits that they can make, force them to leverage on every competitive advantage they can squeeze out.A scenario they present goes like this: If a piece of photo now costs 50 sen to develop and print out as a hard copy, with GST, the price should be 53 sen or so, they say. Since there is no more 1 sen, so they would have to round it up to 55 sen or their cash registry machine at the point of sale would as programmed to do so for GST compliance, as the smallest sen value is now the 5 sen coin.
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This according to them, fusspot customers would wail and rail, running off to their lower priced competitors or so they say, which is inclusive of some of the photocopy shops charging 4 sen or 5 sen or 10 sen per copy etc.They said they refuse to absorb the 6 per cent GST as it would eat into their profits and costs. In effect, they would have to raise their price without being sure whether the competition, especially those not registered for GST would do likewise or undercut them.As of now, most of the photo developing shops are facing declining business volumes as the younger generations do their own photo sharing online and print out by themselves by desktop printers.
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The public should be aware that all prices of goods and services after April 1 must be inclusive of GST, meaning the price tag, list price or quoted price etc. all must be GST inclusive. You should not be charged separately or in addition for GST after paying for the goods or services.Meanwhile, the Secretary-General of the Kota Kinabalu Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry Yee That Hian said no members have expressed any intention to close down their business prior to April 1, although there were news reporting that some were doing so, unable to cope with the compliance for GST due to being computer illiterate or some other reasons.
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Some had expressed intention to break down partnerships to smaller business entity to fall below the RM500,000 threshold for GST registration, or even start again with a new company with a different name.Yee expressed consternation that some software companies are unable to provide the standard of training and back-up service required for some companies who had bought into their GST system, leaving some firms in a dilemma as they could not change or switch to other software in time or for claiming the government's subsidy.His President Datuk Michael Lui wanted the GST to be deferred in order to have more time to sort out issues that bother the business community and the public at large.There are bakers who are unhappy that buns or paus are not excluded from GST unlike bread when they all are said to be like bread made from flour.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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