KUALA LUMPUR: E-invoicing is also meant to help businesses embrace digitisation and not solely to curb leakages from tax evasion, says Liew Chin Tong.
The Deputy Finance Minister explained that it will help businesses adopt technological advancements.
According to Liew, 212,543 taxpayers have issued e-invoices cumulatively since 2024.
This resulted in more than one billion e-invoices cumulatively issued.
“This reflects conducive conditions to curb leakages or non-compliance alongside mitigating the risk of black market practices.
“I want to stress here that e-invoicing is not only to curb leakages but a process to help traders digitise their businesses,” he said in the Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday (Feb 24).
He was responding to a question by Datuk Shamsulkahar Mohd Deli (BN-Jempol) who asked about transactional data since the introduction of e-invoicing and measures to ensure tax compliance in efforts to curb leakages.
Liew also addressed concerns that e-invoicing could trigger price increases among micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in 2027, particularly if penalties are imposed for non-compliance due to technical challenges.
“Our role is to ensure a smooth transition. I too have concerns over this. Based on my observations, the government must also ensure wide and comprehensive digitisation.
“Only then, we can avoid situations where e-invoicing results in price increases,” he said.
He was responding to Datuk Awang Hashim (PN-Pendang) who asked about the risk of price shocks next year once MSMEs begin to include legal-risk costs when pricing their products.
Liew added that other measures taken to aid traders required to implement e-invoicing include extending the transition period to Dec 31 this year and allowing taxpayers to issue a consolidated e-invoice with no penalties or fines issued for non-compliance during this period.
He also noted the presence of the MyInvois e-POS system, which allows micro, small and medium enterprises to utilise it instead of investing in their own systems, adding that it is eligible for businesses with annual earnings of up to RM5 mil.
“Briefings, engagements and hand-holding is also carried out for free by the Inland Revenue Board, to improve understanding and adoption of e-invoicing,” he said.
Traders who incur expenses in order to implement the e-invoicing system
Businesses that incur consultancy fees to implement the system can also claim a tax deduction of up to RM50,000 per year from assessment years 2024 to 2027.
“The government is confident that these measures, along with ongoing policy improvements, will help SMEs manage related costs while benefiting from the digitalisation of business processes,” he said.
