Malaysian sales and service tax

UPDATE: GST has been set at zero from 1 June 2018, to be replaced by a Sales Tax on 1 September 2018.

 

Malaysia reintroduced its sales and service tax (SST) indirect sales tax from 1 September 2018. It replaced the 6% Goods and Services Tax (GST) consumption tax, which was suspended on 1 June 2018. GST was only introduced in April 2015.

 

SST is administered by the Royal Malaysian Customs Department (RMCD).

SST registration

Resident businesses will be required to register for SST if they exceed the annual registration turnover threshold. This is currently set at RM 500,000. The registration process is online and can be found at the RMCD My-SST portal.

 

Businesses previously registered for GST will automatically be transferred to SST registrations.

Malaysian Covid-19 SST rate cuts

Malaysia has temporarily cut service taxes to help support businesses and consumers during the Coronavirus pandemic crisis.

Supply

Old rate

New rate

Implementation date

End date

Service Tax on Hotels

6%

0%

30 Mar 2020

30 Jun 2021

Tourism Tax

RM10

RM0

01 Jul 2020

30 Jun 2021

Malaysia SST rates

Rate

Type

Which goods or services

10%

Standard

Goods SST on goods is charged throughout the B2B chain to the final consumer and is not deductible by tax payers. This includes a liability on imported goods – a low-value exemption may apply

6%

Standard

Services SST on services is only due when supplied to the non-tax registered final consumer. Services liable include: Restaurants; Hotels and accommodation; Car hire, rental and repair; Domestic flights; Insurance; Credit cards; Legal and accounting; Business consulting; Electricity; Telecoms, pay-TV; Digitial supplies; Imported and exported services are exempted

5%

Reduced

Basic foodstuffs; petroleum oils; construction materials; IT, telecommunications and printing hardware and materials; and timepieces. Oil and petroleum are subject to quantity-based rates

Other resources

This guide covers the essential steps ecommerce sellers need to take now that the UK has left the EU Customs Union and VAT regime to keep their cross-border sales going, avoid extra tax costs and frustrated customers.

Read the report to learn about key industry trends, emerging issues, and challenges faced by cross-border sellers and shippers.

Manage international tax with cross-border solutions for VAT, HS code classification, trade restrictions, and more.

Connect with Avalara for the content you need to do tax compliance right