Duty-free islands exempted from GST - Ahmad Maslan

Duty-free islands of Langkawi, Tioman and Labuan will be exempted from the Goods and Services (GST), said Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Ahmad Maslan.

He said the tax exemption would benefit the islands and residents and would not have a negative to their economy.

Addressing a GST briefing on Sunday, he said the government would take measures to ensure that the transition from the Sales and Services to the GST from April next year would not be drastic to ease the burden of the people.

He said the government would strengthen the GST Enforcement Unit with an addition of 2,270 members, 1,300 Price-Watch Team members and 202,800 Consumer Squad members as well as the inclusion of 579 penghulu and penggawa.

"The Price watch team, made up of consumer associations, have been allocated funds to monitor profiteering by traders," he said.