KUALA LUMPUR — The Finance Ministry (MoF) is postponing the expansion of the sales and service tax (SST) initially scheduled for implementation from May 1, in order to engage more stakeholders, Deputy Finance Minister Lim Hui Ying said.
“We are in the process of engaging with stakeholders. If there is any further information on this, the MoF will make an announcement,” Bernama reported her saying.
The ministry is finetuning details of the guidelines and scope of goods and services under the expansion, Lim added, when asked about the matter after she officiated the Jelajah Mega e-Invois 2025 programme.
The postponement was reported by The Star yesterday, citing a ministry spokesperson who said the scope of items under the expansion needed further refinement.
Stakeholder engagements are being done nationwide to finalise the new SST scope and tax rates, the source added.
The expansion of SST to cover more items – except for basic foodstuff – was announced in the tabling of Budget 2025 last October by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who is also Finance Minister, as part of efforts to raise government revenue.
It was proposed that the service tax be raised from 6% to 8% and cover new services, while more goods would be included under the sales tax of 5% or 10%, depending on item. – April 29, 2025