Govt may extend vehicular sales tax exemption to aid automobile industry's recovery, says Dr Wee

PETALING JAYA: The Government may extend the sales tax exemption for new vehicles to aid recovery for the automobile industry, which has been facing many challenges during the lockdown, says Dr Wee Ka Siong.

The Transport Minister said the government had introduced a series of stimulus packages for economic recovery.

"One of them is the vehicle sales tax exemption for the purchase of new vehicles and the exemption has been extended to 30 June this year.

"The government is currently considering the proposal for the extension of the exemption and a decision will be announced soon," he said in a recorded statement at the Federation of Motor and Credit Companies Associations of Malaysia (FMCCAM) annual general meeting here on Saturday (June 11).

FMCCAM president Datuk Tony Khor also urged the government to extend the exemption of sales tax for new vehicles, which is set to expire on June 30.

He said there had been delays in the delivery of vehicles caused by a global disruption of the supply chain and shortage of chips.

Extending the exemption, he said, would lead to more potential car buyers.

The SST exemption was implemented as part of the Penjana stimulus package, which was meant to mitigate the effects of the pandemic.

The scheme was originally scheduled to end on Dec 31, 2020, but has been extended three times, with the latest expiry date set for June 30.

Khor also urged JPJ to look into the possibility of facilitating same day delivery of used cars after the loan is approved.

"FMCCAM is also proposing to JPJ to consider reducing road tax by 75% for vehicles which are more than 15 years old, 50% for vehicles which are more than 10 years old and 25% for vehicles which are five years old.

Dr Wee said despite the obstacles and challenges faced, the industry must continue to find ways to improve the situation.

"We welcome initiatives that will help economic recovery, and we will look into the matter to see if the Transport Ministry can help to facilitate this proposal.

"On the proposal to reduce road tax for cars which are more than 10 years old, we need to study this proposal further which must be looked at holistically to ensure the outcome will benefit the majority," he said.

Dr Wee also said he chaired the JPJ Integrated Digitalisation Blueprint briefing at the Transport Ministry in April to look for the best approach to adopting the digitisation process of JPJ.

"The ministry is exploring options for JPJ to go digital and choose the best ecosystem that is sustainable and able to benefit the people the most.

"Specifically, the Transport Ministry is exploring options to digitise and allow more core services to be done online.

"We want initiatives that will benefit individuals and businesses by making it easier to complete their transactions with JPJ," he said.

Dr Wee also said the Ministry has launched e-testing, an automated driving test and training system to improve JPJ's delivery system and driving test system.

"The e-aduan@jpj is another platform launched to provide various services to clients and stakeholders as well as efficiently manage complaints of various services.

"More services will be made available online in future to improve efficiency and delivery.

"As always, the Transport Ministry is open to dialogue sessions and welcomes feedback from all of you to provide the best services for the people," he said.