SST expansion put on hold, confirms deputy minister

The proposed expansion of the sales and services tax (SST) that was supposed to be effective on May 1 has been put on hold since the discussion with stakeholders are ongoing.

A major issue is with regards to the scope that is being refined.

“When the ministry has updates on the matter, we will make the announcement,” Deputy Finance Minister Lim Hui Ying told reporters after the officiating ceremony of the Jelajah Mega e-Invois 2025 programme.

Yesterday a ministry spokesman had said that the scope of the expanded SST is being refined and that the Treasury carried out engagements nationwide with various industry players in finalising the new scope and tax tates.

There have been calls from Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers for the SST to be put on hold due to the impending US tariffs on Malaysian imports.

The Trump administration has postponed the 24% reciprocal tariffs and maintained a blanket 10% rate on all US imports.

On a related matter, Lim said that close to 29,000 companies have implemented e-invoicing, involving 2262 million transactions.

The e-invoicing system was rolled out gradually from Aug 1 last year, starting with businesses with an annual turnover or revenue of more than RM100 million.

The second phase for businesses with turnovers exceeding RM25 million began on Jan 1 and the third phase on July 1, involving all types of businesses, including micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises.