Online shoppers rejoice: 10% tax on goods valued under RM500 postponed indefinitely

This comes after a proposed amendment to the Sales Tax Act 2018 to tax LVG sales through the Sales Tax (Amendment) Bill 2022 on Aug 1 last year. — Photo by rupixen.com on Unsplash

According to an announcement from the Royal Malaysian Customs Department, the low-value goods (LVG) tax originally planned to come into effect on April 1 has been delayed indefinitely.

Legislation regarding how the tax will function has been in effect since early January this year, but the lack of an implementation date with the latest statement has left the deadline for its imposition up in the air.

The LVG tax will impose a 10% sales duty on goods valued under RM500 (excluding shipping fees) imported from overseas.

This comes after a proposed amendment to the Sales Tax Act 2018 to tax LVG sales through the Sales Tax (Amendment) Bill 2022 on Aug 1 last year.

Both local and foreign sellers of imported low-value goods with sales exceeding a total of RM500,000 within a duration of 12 months is responsible for acquiring ‘Registered Seller’ (RS) status with the Customs department under the legislation.

The LVG tax is intended to ensure equal treatment for both locally manufactured and imported goods, as Malaysian manufacturers are taxed by 5% or 10% on sales.

More details on the specifics relating to the tax and RS registration are available on the Customs department’s website.