PUTRAJAYA: Mandatory e-invoicing for companies with total annual sales of RM1mil to RM5mil, which was previously set to come into force Jan 1, has been postponed by the government, says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
According to Anwar, the government decided to postpone it as some companies were not ready due to the high cost of implementing e-invoicing.
Anwar also said the sales and services tax for rental services has been reduced from 8% to 6%, and it costs the government nearly RM500mil in revenue.
“The government agreed to extend the transition period without any penalties for another year for e-invoicing, because many have said it involved a very high cost.
“We also agreed to extend the consolidated e-invoicing facility to the retail and building materials sector,” said Anwar in his speech during the Prime Minister’s Department monthly assembly at Putrajaya on Monday (Jan 5).
For services taxes on rental, Anwar said the government was aware of concerns because it was raised to 8% from being untaxed previously. The Cabinet proposed reducing the service tax on rental services to 6%.
At the same time, Anwar said the services tax on rental services has been exempted for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) with annual sales below RM1.5mil.
Anwar also said the government agreed to extend the voluntary stamp duty disclosure program for another six months, from Jan 1 to June 30 this year.
On income tax, Anwar said the government has paid income tax refunds amounting to RM22.5bil to Malaysians.
According to Anwar, the Inland Revenue Board (LHDN) resolved 3.5 million backlogged tax refund cases last year.
“For the 2023 assessment period, we will solve it by the first quarter of this year and for 2024, we hope to solve it by the end of the year,” he said.
Meanwhile, Anwar also said the earlier special Cabinet meeting agreed to limit tax exemptions for registered manufacturers of animal feed, fertiliser and insecticides.
“This is to reduce the cost of producing agricultural goods,” he added.
Anwar had chaired a special Cabinet meeting before attending the Prime Minister’s Department monthly assembly.
