Tuesday 28 June 2016

4 Costly GST Mistakes that Businesses should Avoid

This is the first of a 4 part series on GST written by Thenesh Kannaa, Partner of TraTax Malaysia

(Speaker for the upcoming Wolters Kluwer workshop, GST Health Check: Ensure Compliance - Avoid Costly Mistakes held in Kuala Lumpur on the 21st of July 2016)

Despite the Royal Malaysian Customs (RMC) conducting many hand-holding programs and issuing many guidelines, including numerous industry guides, mistakes continue to be made by businesses with regards to GST. The purpose of this series of articles is to highlight four of the costly GST mistakes that both SMEs and larger businesses can and should avoid. Today's instalment highlights the aspect of price display.

Display of prices including GST

It is a statutory requirement that if a GST-registered business displays, advertises, publishes or quotes the price of any goods or services that it offers for sale, such prices must be GST-inclusive unless the RMC has approved otherwise. The intention of the law is to ensure that customers pay no more than the price they see. 




Thursday 23 June 2016

Launch of Malaysia GST – Manufacturing


The Wolters Kluwer Industry Specific Modules for the Malaysia GST Reporter was launched on 23 June 2016 during the “GST Professional Series” event held at the Concorde Hotel, Kuala Lumpur. The industry specific modules are an extension of the Malaysia GST Reporter.
The first industry to kick-start the launch of the modules is the manufacturing sector authored by Bernard Yap and Dave Ananth of Ernst & Young Tax Consultants Sdn Bhd. The launch was attended by customers from the manufacturing sector who were given a talk on the potential GST challenges and issues related to the manufacturing sector by Dave Ananth. The GST challenges and issues as well as how to manage and apply the correct treatment are explained in greater detail by the authors in this online publication.

Thursday 16 June 2016

Singapore's internet ban for public officers

Singapore has decided to block internet access from computers used by public officers in an attempt to strengthen cyber security. There are currently 100,000 computers used by public officers and all of them will be affected by the new policy.

To ensure the safety of the Government's IT infrastructure as well as to prevent the spread of all types of malware that might enter the Government's email network, there is a need for strong security interventions. To be clear, the Government clarified that internet terminals will be installed in offices if public officers need to access the web. They can also use their personal devices to connect online.

The Straits Times reported that the announcement has garnered strong reactions from general public, with several describing the move as 'backward' and contradictory of the Smart Nation movement especially considering the fact that Singapore is one of the more wired countries in the world. The policy can be expected to be implemented by May 2017.




Friday 10 June 2016

Spotlight on - Tan Liong Tong

Those of you in the Malaysian accounting world no doubt know of Professor Tan Liong Tong. Whether it's his reference books or his technical seminars, Professor Tan has dedicated a significant portion of his life to imparting accounting knowledge to students and working professionals alike.

He has been involved in many of our recent accounting-related publications here in Malaysia, and his books are constantly in high demand. Not only does he covers standards as a whole, such as the Malaysian Financial Reporting Standards and the Malaysian Private Entities Reporting Standard, he also zeroes in on specific complex topics such as financial instruments and deferred taxation.


At the same time, he is one of our key speakers for accounting related events, covering many topics from implementing new standards and adapting to the latest changes in existing standards.

One month extension for SST returns and payment of tax

The Royal Malaysian Customs Department (RMCD) has announced a one month extension (until 31 July 2021) for the submission of SST-02 forms an...