IPOH: There will be no Sales and Service Tax on satay sold in food outlets, says Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng.
He said the SST on the popular Malaysian food was imposed during the processing stage for the purpose of packaging and sales.
“It is the sales that get the SST, not at the outlets,” he told reporters after a briefing on the SST at a hotel here yesterday.
Lim was replying to a question on whether the SST would be imposed on chicken or beef satay sold in food outlets, as it was among the items listed as taxable under “preparation of meat”.
He said failure to do so would mean that they could not charge the SST and would have to use their own funds to pay the tax to the government.
His call was echoed by Customs Department director-general Datuk Seri T. Subromaniam, who said friendly visits by the department found that there were still food providers who had not updated their systems.
“We advised them to update their systems so that the 6% service tax could be charged,” he said.
In Shah Alam, Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Jamil Salleh said the real impact of the SST on the prices of general goods was expected to be fully felt in the second week of its implementation.
This is because goods sold during the first week after the end of the tax holiday are actually tax-free.
Noting that traders had bought the goods during the tax holiday period, he said the tax-free stocks should be sold at prices minus the SST.
“However, some traders might want to take advantage of the situation but we are ready for that.
“We have mobilised 1,000 enforcement personnel to check against profiteering.
“Legal action will be taken against profiteers, and I want them to be severely punished to deter others from doing the same,” he said after visiting a juice-producing factory yesterday.
The Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act provides a fine of up to RM100,000 or a three-year imprisonment upon conviction.
~News courtesy of The Star~
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