Businesses paying price for hasty GST move
Published on: Saturday, April 18, 2015
Kota Kinabalu: The Sabah United Chinese Chambers of Commerce (SUCCC) expressed regret that the business sector had been blamed, threatened and even had action taken against them for problems arising from the implementation of the Goods and Service Tax (GST). Its President Datuk Seri Gan Sau Wah also said that the GST was implemented hastily.He said the Government should give the business sector at least a year to enable them to be familiar with the GST software.
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Furthermore, the software supply was also insufficient, Gan told the media after chairing SUCCC's Administration Committee meeting at the SUCCC Secretariat in Wisma Pendidikan, Friday."The business community had over the years contributed to the steady development of the nation's economic growth so it should be a win-win situation."It is the public service officers' role to educate the people and not simply threaten and penalise the business operators in this matter. We hope the authorities concerned would carry out their duty fairly," he said."We had never changed our stand in supporting the implementation of GST from the beginning, in fact we strongly believe GST will provide a steady income for the Government that will eventually bring development and benefit the rakyat.
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"What we are asking for is for its implementation to be deferred for only a year in order for the business operators to adapt to the GST software," he said.Furthermore, he said, it was now clear that the government did not consider the situation of the business operators in rural and small areas where information and GST software were difficult to get.
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As such, he hoped the government would in future consult first with the business people before implementing any laws or policies that would greatly affect the sector. SUCCC had received many complaints from its members as well as Chinese business operators in the State on the problems arising after the implementation of GST on Apr 1.Meanwhile, SUCCC Deputy Secretary General, Victor Kou Lee Chong said the authorities must provide a standard guideline on the GST receipt.He said it was vital for both the Customs and the Domestic Trade, Co-operatives and Consumerism Ministry to "communicate" with each other to avoid unnecessary burden to the business operators.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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