Najib (third left) with Thailand’s Commerce deputy minister Apiradi Tantraporn (second left) during the convention. — Bernama
KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said the Goods and Services Tax (GST), which comes into force yesterday, will benefit Malaysian firms as the cost of doing business will fall as they recover input taxes.
Najib said the GST was a key part of the biggest series of tax reforms in the country’s history as the aim was to make the taxation system more efficient, effective, transparent and business-friendly.
“This is good news for the halal industry, since most of the ingredients – fish, meat, poultry, vegetables and the like – will incur zero GST,” he said at the launch of the Word Halal Summit 2015 (WHS 2015) here yesterday.
He said the implementation of the new tax regime has gone through rigorous and detailed study for over 30 years to ensure that Malaysia would achieve high-income status by 2020.
Najib said 4,000 goods were classified as exempted and zero-rated under GST. On the halal industry development, he said, the halal economy was currently estimated to be worth RM8.4 trilion (US$2.3 trilion), of which halal foods made up RM2.5 trillion (US$700 billion).
He said the opportunities for the halal industry were enormous given that the Muslim population worldwide, currently at 1.6 billion, or 23 per cent of the global poplation, was expected to rise to 2.2 billion people, or 26 per cent of the global population by 2030.
Najib said as the Asean chairman this year, Malaysia was keen to encourage the promotion and development of the halal industry in the region.
“With the establishment of the Asean Economic Community by year-end, there is no reason why Asean should not become a major halal trading hub, serving both home markets and those around the globe,” he said. — Bernama