KUALA LUMPUR: The Royal Malaysian Customs Department has said that the number of companies registering for the Goods and Services Tax (GST) was 107,511 as of Oct 27, an increase of 2,037 from the previous day.
It was the part of campaign to attract 150,000 companies to register for the GST scheme by end-December.
Sources said that the target seems achievable by Dec 31 as only 30 per cent more needing to register.
The two-day event, which started today is being held by PUNB and the Bumiputra Retail Organisation (BRO), in collaboration with the Royal Malaysians Customs.
There are 378 participants with 250 being company representatives. Ahmad Maher said efforts like continuous publicity through the media and collaboration with big organisation like PUNB and BRO, are among the department’s initiatives to ensure the year-end target is achieved.
Deputy Director of GST Ahmad Maher Abd Jalil said companies that register early for the GST scheme will be given priority in enrolling for a hand-holding programme, a sectorial-based training, to prepare and assist businesses for the new tax structure, which begun last week.
“In our nationwide effort, about 20,000 companies have been divided into 19 sectors ranging from retail to services and manufacturing for the hand-holding programme, as each has specific issues to raise.