PUTRAJAYA, Oct 2 — Customs director-general Datuk Seri Khazali Ahmad said the Goods and Services Tax (GST) was being used as a “scapegoat” by businesses to close down.
“I have heard stories of people closing their shop because of GST, but closing down is their choice. Everyone has a choice,” he said.
“Maybe they feel that they have been doing the business a long time and want to stop, but don’t use GST as a ‘scapegoat’.”
He said there were many reasons for traders to end their business and GST was just a convenient excuse.
“For example, some sundry shops are family-run but when the children have grown up to be working professionals such as accountants, they don’t want to take care of the shop,” he said.
“They (the children) are doing well and the owner may be old and do not want to continue the business.”
Khazali said his department had not received any complaints from business owners about GST forcing them to close.
Commenting on a survey done by the Malaysian Employers Federation on Customs’ support services and officers, Khazali said his officers were very competent.
“We are constantly updating our staff and the skills of our officers. People can make all sorts of accusations but I have confidence in my department, there are those who are very competent. If they are not, how can we implement GST?”
According to the survey, 51.7 per cent of respondents said GST officers were not knowledgeable in answering queries on the new tax imposed on April 1 and 49.4 per cent said GST officers did not understand the daily operation of companies.
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