Amidst the confusion surrounding the Goods and Services Tax (GST), the behaviour of Customs Department officers have come under scrutiny.
Kluang MP Liew Chin Tong in a statement today said small businesses in Johor had complained of hostile inspections by Customs officers.
“In my visits to shops in Kluang, Johor this morning, small businesses complained of hostile inspections with an intention to find fault by Customs enforcement officers. In Sabah, DAP State Assemblyman for Likas, Junz Wong, informed me of raids by Customs officers at 1 am on 1st April 2015 on several eateries in Lintas, Kota Kinabalu,” he said.
Liew: Focus on hand-holding small businesses in implementation of GST, not enforcement
The DAP Political Education Director also said that officers, armed with a “profiteering businesses” narrative, have been busy harassing small businesses since 1st April.
“GST is an administrative burden on the businesses which increases the transaction cost to the extent that many small businesses found it not worthy to operate anymore. This is compounded by the fact that the Finance Ministry and some media outlets have tried to perpetuate two myths: first, that after GST there will be a fall in the prices of goods just because there is no more sales tax; and second, that if there are price hikes, it is due to recalcitrant businesses trying to make extra profits and has nothing to do with GST,” he said.
He urged Prime Minister Najib Razak to focus on hand-holding small business through the process of GST, instead of overzealous enforcement.
The GST, which came into effect Wednesday, has seen the Customs Department swamped with tens of thousands of phone calls as consumers puzzle over the tax and its implementation, and the department received more than 800 complaints on the first day of implementation alone.
The 6% consumption tax replaces the 10% sales and service tax, and is considered a more transparent and wide-ranging tax system. However, opposition leaders and several BN leaders have criticised the implementation of this tax, as they raise issues of low incomes and wealth inequality as major stumbling blocks to the GST.
