SST not an excuse to up prices, traders warned

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Jenny (third left) and other officers check prices of food and drinks at a coffeeshop during the operation.

SARIKEI: Traders here are advised against using the Sales and Services Tax (SST) an excuse to raise prices of goods.

Jenny Teron, the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumers Affairs’ divisional enforcement chief, warned that stern action, as provided under Price Control and Profiteering Act 2011, would be taken against traders caught hiking the prices of goods.

However, no reports of traders here had so far been found to have committed any wrong doing in connection with the SST, she told a press conference after leading an enforcement team to carry out an operation here yesterday morning.

The operation, called ‘Operasi Bersepadu Ops Catutan 5.0 (SST)’ which also involved enforcement officers from Customs Department and Sarikei District Council, covered several premises at Jalan Masjid Lama comprising outlets such as Watson, Singapore Chicken Rice, 99 Teleshop, Ung Telecommunication, 7 Eleven, and 1Malaysia Café.

The operation was a follow-up to a pre-SST operation they conducted in August, to monitor the prices of goods and services here, she said.

According to Jenny, they had neither noticed a drop nor increase in prices of goods, and that most traders still maintained the old prices.

Similar operations would be conducted in rural areas here from time-to-time, she added.