PETALING JAYA: A total of 300 trained Customs officers will be sent to help traders resolve problems related to the Goods and Services Tax.
Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Johari Abd Ghani said the Customs Department was now recruiting graduates who would be trained to engage small businesses traders.
“We want to help them if they have problems, not penalise them.
“We do not want their businesses to slow down because of GST. We will meet them but they need to be up front with the department, too,” he said after visiting the Customs Department at Kelana Jaya yesterday.
He said 98% of businesses and traders were GST-compliant but there were still some who needed help to get adjusted to the system.
Johari said among the issues faced included the delay in getting their refunds.
He said between April and June, 92% of the refunds were paid within the stipulated 14 days.
However, there had been cases of delays because traders used wrong documents to claim their refunds or were unable to be contacted by the department.
“Some whose turnover is less than RM5mil annually have submitted their returns monthly instead of every three months.
“Only those whose turnover is more than RM5mil annually need to submit monthly returns.
Johari said he had suggested that Customs set up a special unit to track businesses and traders who were yet to be registered under the department.
Johari said registration would help Customs have a proper database.
