GST: Majority complaints on first day on prepaid reloads

Deputy Finance Minister, Datuk Ahmad Maslan said out of the total, 40 percent were complaints on purchase of prepaid telephone reload cards that were also being imposed with GST charges.

"While I am replying to this question, the Customs has called the telcos to give statements on the complaints received.

"If they are stubborn and do not want to comply to directives, then we will bring these cases to court," he said when replying to a supplementary question from Datuk Sapawi Ahmad Wasali (BN-Sipitang).

Sapawi had queried about the number of complaints received since the GST was implemented yesterday nationwide given that the people on average uploaded receipts of the prepaid telephone reload cards' purchases in the social media sites.

Ahmad advised customere to keep their receipts and go back to the business premises to make claims for reimbursement for the reload cards they had bought.

To another supplementary question from Datuk Abdul Rahman Mohamad (BN-Lipis) on the action of certain companies to have a separate accounts to avoid GST registration, he said their strategy was wrong.

He said when a company's account was being separated to avoid GST registration because the annual income was below the RM500,000 level, it could not claim tax input.

"If the company cannot claim. then the cost of doing business will increase six percent compared to their competitors who register for GST," he said.

He said up to yesterday, 364,862 companies had registered for GST.

On the low cost housing maintenance bill, he said it was exempted from GST but it was not for those staying in gated community and luxury housing.

He was replying to a supplementary question from Siti Mariah Mahmud (PAS-Kota Raja) who wanted to know if the bill was being imposed with GST.

"If any joint management bodies are being imposed with GST, consumers can lodge a report to GST line 1300-888-500," Ahmad said.