Lower sugar content to avoid paying tax, SMEs told

SMALL and medium enterprises (SMEs) which produce beverages should lower the sugar content in their products to avoid paying the sugar tax, says Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng.

“It should not be a big problem for the SMEs as they are able to make adjustments.

“It is more of a problem for producers of the larger branded beverages as they have a standard re­­quirement to meet for their drinks,” he said when answering a question raised by Datuk Dr Sham­sul Anuar Nasarah (BN-Leng­gong) in Parlia­ment yesterday.

Lim said the sugar tax, effective on July 1, was confined to ready-to-drink beverages which contained sugar.

“This means there is no tax on beverages such as Milo, teh tarik and coffee prepared by the mamak stalls and coffeeshops,” he said.

He also said that the sugar tax was imposed on manufactured drinks which exceeded the permitted threshold.

An excise duty of 40 sen per litre is imposed on manufactured or im­­ported beverages containing sugar exceeding 5g per 100ml, as well as fruit and vegetable juices containing sugar more than 12g per 100ml.