Customs Dept to recruit more than 800 new staff for GST implementation

The Customs Department will recruit more than 800 new staff over three months towards efforts to monitor implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in a more transparent manner.

Customs GST director, Datuk Subromaniam Tholasy said the number is the balance of the 1,600 new recruits approved by the government recently.

"We have to date already recruited about half the total approved. The recruitment exercise will be conducted in stages," he told reporters after the launch of a set of GST guidelines material by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak here today.

Subromaniam said at present, there were about 3,000 GST officers.

Meanwhile, Customs Director General Datuk Seri Khazali Ahmad said the department would create 10 additional GST Helpdesk lines at its offices throughout the country to enhance understanding within the community and among traders towards the new tax regime.

He said the move was in view of an expected increase in the number of queries on the GST upon implementation on April 1.

The Helpdesk lines will be open daily from 8am to 10.30pm.

Meanwhile, Najib today launched the GST FAQ booklet, the Taxpayer Access Point (TAP) handbook, a multimedia video on the GST Statement and Payment and the GST Helpdesk Hotline.

Also present at the launch was Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah, Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Ahmad Maslan, Treasury Secretary General Tan Sri Irwan Siregar and senior customs officers.

The Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) booklet covers questions that the public may be confronted with in the course of making purchases with the GST in mind.

The TAP handbook and multimedia video will help traders who have registered for the GST on how to fill and forward their GST statement forms and methods of making payment.