IN May last year, a group of six disabled people’s organisations (DPOs) held a protest to urge the government to grant unconditional GST exemption on assistive devices and essential supplies used by disabled people. I wrote about that in this column then. Earlier this week, another group of DPOs staged a protest outside Parliament for the same reasons.
Subsequent to the second protest, Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Rohani Abdul Karim issued a statement to clarify the issue. She explained that disabled people can receive exemption through registered DPOs by producing a Tax Exemption Form when purchasing equipment like artificial limbs, wheelchairs, hearing aids and other devices listed in Item 7 of the Goods and Services Tax (Relief) Order 2014.
She added that the Goods and Services Tax Act 2015 has provisions for such exemptions and some people may not be aware of it. Therefore, she called on suppliers of these equipment to extend tax exemption to any registered DPOs that present the form at the time of purchase.
With all due respect, the minister missed the point of why disabled people have to come out to air our grievances publicly with regards to GST again. Therefore, I would like to reiterate that we are fully aware that assistive devices are exempted from GST. What we want is for the government to do away with the requirement to produce the form from registered DPOs to get the exemption. Such equipment should be zero-rated in the first place.
Firstly, not every disabled person is a member of a DPO. They should be able to enjoy the same exemption regardless of whether they are affiliated with any organisation or not. Secondly, even if we are members of DPOs, the hassle of requesting for the said form can be off-putting with applicants having to contact the organisation multiple times.
I know of two cases where disabled persons who imported wheelchairs directly from overseas had no choice but to pay the tax. One was not a member of any DPO and the other faced difficulty in getting the form. Before that, wheelchairs and similar equipment could be imported tax-free without the need for additional documents.
If one needs a wheelchair urgently, do you think the person will want to go through that process of approaching a DPO for the form before making the purchase? A wheelchair is not like a pair of shoes one can go without. It is crucial to our mobility and independence. Not having the use of one for a day or two can cause health complications and extreme difficulties in performing our activities of daily living.
What we cannot understand is why the Kad OKU, which is a document officially issued by the government and recognised by most government agencies, cannot be used to identify and certify holders in cases like this. This requirement has inconvenienced many of us as even registered DPOs are unaware of how to get these forms.
Assistive devices like wheelchairs and artificial limbs are expensive. Thankfully we don’t have to buy them on a monthly or yearly basis. Even then, due to wear and tear they have to be repaired or replaced after three to five years. As far as I know, wheelchair parts are not GST exempted either. Do we need to get another form then to be exempted from paying GST for these items when the time comes?
Nobody would wake up one day and decide to use a wheelchair just for the fun of it. Equipment such as this are used by people who really need them. Although expensive, they are not luxury goods like lobsters that one can do without. Therefore it makes no sense to impose GST on these devices and then make disabled people get a form to be exempted from paying the tax. The logic of this red tape escapes me.
Equipment listed in Item 7 of the Goods and Services Tax (Relief) Order 2014 are only part of the things disabled people need to use. We also need catheters, personal lubricants, urine bags, colostomy bags and diapers, most of these on a daily basis. The minister glaringly left this point out in her statement. Is she not aware that disabled people also need to use such items in order for us to maintain our health?
By my estimation, our expenses for assistive devices and essential items have increased by at least 30 per cent since the implementation of GST and the steep depreciation of the ringgit against the US dollar. We have not even talked about the rising cost of living yet. The fact that most of us are unemployed or barely scraping by with the little we earn exacerbates the situation.
These problems and suggestions to resolve the difficulties caused by GST were presented to Senator Bathmavathi Krishnan by individuals and DPOs at various times since the tax regime was implemented. She is the de facto representative of disabled people in the government together with other disabled people who were opted into the National Council for Persons with Disabilities. On her part, the senator revealed that she brought this issue up in Parliament twice last year.
Disabled people have consistently pleaded for the process to be simplified and essential items to be zero-rated. In conversations with others affected by GST, we have often asked each other if our case was properly presented during the National Council meetings and in Parliament for it to be resolved expediently.
This is not an issue that cropped up last week or last month. It has been dragging on for almost one year. For disabled people having to come out to protest, not once but twice, and seeing the cookie-cutter response from the minister, it is evident that nothing was done from that time until now. In between the two protests, we have also expressed the difficulties openly through the mass media and social media time and again, and obviously to no avail.
Other than having to contend with barriers in the built environment and public transport, and marginalisation in education and employment, we now have to deal with bureaucracy like this.
We are already disabled by so many things. Why implement measures that disable us further? The lack of empathy, poor understanding of the core issues and lackadaisical attitude in resolving them is disappointing to say the least.
If the government is serious in addressing this matter, I’m sure it can be done with just a stroke of the pen. Is it that difficult to categorise assistive devices and other essential items used by disabled people as zero-rated supplies? Laws, policies and procedures are all man-made. The question now is whether the powers that be are caring enough to do what is proper and right for the welfare and well-being of disabled people.