GST: Two complaints received so far on misuse of GST ID - Customs

The Royal Malaysian Customs Department received two complaints relating to the misuse of the 12-digit registration Goods and Services Tax (GST) number or GST ID by two food outlets.

Customs Department Senior Assistant Director Zaizah Zainuddin said the complaints were received by the Kuala Lumpur Customs headquarters, each involving a food outlet in the Klang Valley and in a state from the east coast.

"These were the first complaints we received pertaining to the misuse of the GST ID and investigations on the premises involved are currently being carried out by the customs enforcement unit.

"There are consumers who lodge a complaint with the customs department after finding out that the GST ID printed on the receipt is not the same as the name of company concerned, instead it was owned by another company," she told Bernama after appearing on BernamaTV's Ruang Bicara programme, here last night.

She said the misuse of the GST ID is a serious offence as it involved fraud by traders against the consumers.

She said consumers were advised to be careful and alert on invoices or receipts they received and check whether there was any wrongdoing by the traders.

"Consumers can check by using a mobile phone via visiting the portal at gst.custom.gov.my, and click on the search menu of the GST registered companies, consumers will know whether a company is GST registered or not," she said.

Zaizah said until today, the customs department had opened 13 investigation papers on various GST related offences including traders imposing tax even though they were not registered with the customs department GST and not displaying their GST ID clearly.

As of last Thursday, the Customs Department received a total of 3,804 complaints related to GST involving three offences namely raising the price of goods, service charges, prepaid cards, invoice issued not following the criteria fixed; and other customs procedure offences.