Introduction
The Service Tax Policy No. 2/2024, issued by the Royal Malaysian Customs Department on 28 February 2024, provides directives on the service tax treatment for Traditional and Complementary Medicine (T&CM) services.
Purpose
The policy aims to establish the service tax position for T&CM services under the current and revised legal framework, while also addressing past non-compliance matters.
Key Points
The policy specifies that for the period 1 September 2018 to 29 February 2024, T&CM service recipients and registered T&CM practitioners were exempted from paying and charging service tax respectively.
A blanket remission on penalties is granted to practitioners for any past non-compliance.
Similarly, transitional exemptions are prescribed for the period 1 March 2024 onwards until legislative amendments are gazetted. Collected service tax has to be remitted to Customs and no refunds are permitted.
Conclusion
In essence, the tax policy provides clarity to T&CM practitioners on the service tax obligations and transitional rules for their services.
This facilitates compliance and avoids undue burden given the healthcare nature of services. The remission grant also rectifies past breaches stemming from interpretation issues.
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