Power to take samples
(1) The Director General or any officer of goods and services tax may, if his duties so require, take samples of any goods to ascertain whether they are goods of a description liable to tax or to ascertain the tax due and payable on the goods, or for other purposes as he may deem necessary, and the samples may be disposed of and accounted for in such manner as the Director General may direct.
(2) No payment shall be made for any samples taken under subsection (1), but the officer of goods and services tax shall give a receipt for the samples.
Persons bound to produce goods or give information, etc.
(1) Every person having information about any matter into which it is the duty of an officer of goods and services tax to inquire shall, upon being required by him to do so, give the information.
(2) Every person required by an officer of goods and services tax to produce any goods, document, article or thing which is within the power of the person to produce, and which are goods, document, article or thing required under this Act or goods, document, article or thing used in any transaction or other matter relating to tax or goods, document, article or thing into which it is the duty of the officer of goods and services tax to enquire under this Act, shall produce the goods, document, article or thing.
(3) Where any information, goods, document, article or thing are not in the national language or English language, the Director General or any officer of goods and services tax may by notice in writing require the supplier or, on the supplier’s default, any other person, to produce, within a reasonable period, a translation thereof in the national language or English language as the Director General or the officer may determine.
(4) Any person who contravenes this section commits an offence.
Use of electronic service
(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act and subject to regulations made under this Act, the Director General may provide an electronic service to any registered user for—
(a) the filing or furnishing of any application, return, declaration or any other document; and
(b) the service of any notice, direction, order, permit, receipt or any other document.
(2) Where an electronic notice is made and transmitted to the Director General, the Director General shall not be liable for any loss or damage suffered by the registered user by reason of any error or omission of whatever nature or however arising appearing in any electronic notice obtained by the registered user under the electronic service if the error or omission was made in good faith and in the ordinary course of the discharge of the duties of the Director General or occurred or arose as a result of any defect or breakdown in the service or in the equipment used for the provision of the service.
(3) Any electronic notice made and transmitted by the registered user shall be deemed to have been filed, furnished or served at the time the electronic notice is received by the Director General.
(4) For the purposes of this section, “registered user” means any person who is authorized in writing by the Director General to gain access to and use the electronic service.
Service of notices
(1) Every notice, direction or any other document required by this Act to be served on any person may be served—
(a) personally upon the person;
(b) by sending it to the person by registered post; or
(c) by electronic service.
(2) The notice, direction or other document sent by registered post to a person shall be deemed to have been served on that person at the time at which it would have been delivered to that person in the ordinary course of the post if the notice, direction or other document was addressed—
(a) in the case of a company, limited liability partnership, firm, society, an association or other body of persons—
(i) to its registered office;
(ii) to its last-known address; or
(iii) to any person authorized by it to accept service of process; and
(b) in the case of an individual, to his last-known address.
(3) Where a person has given his consent for a notice to be served on him through the electronic service, the notice shall be deemed to have been served at the time when the electronic notice is transmitted to his account through the electronic service.
Authentication of notices, etc.
(1) Subject to subsection (2), every notice or any other document served for the purposes of this Act by the Director General or an officer authorized by him shall be sufficiently authenticated if the name and office of the Director General is printed, stamped or otherwise written thereon.
(2) Where this Act provides for a notice or any other document to be under the hand of any officer of goods and services tax, the notice or the other document shall be signed in manuscript by the officer of goods and services tax.
(3) A notice or any other document served for the purposes of this Act and purporting to be signed in manuscript by the Director General or an officer authorized by him shall be presumed, until the contrary is proved, to have been so signed.
Free postage
All returns and remittances of tax and any correspondence resulting from or connected with any return or remittance may, if posted in Malaysia, be sent free of postage to the Director General in an envelope marked “Goods and Services Tax”.
Tax agent
(1) No person shall be permitted to act in Malaysia on behalf of any person for any matter under this Act unless he is a tax agent provided that this subsection shall not prevent any other person to represent any party to an appeal under section 141.
(2) An individual who has his usual place of residence in Malaysia may apply to the Minister for an approval to be a tax agent in accordance with the prescribed conditions.
(3) The Minister may approve an application under subsection (2), and if it is approved, the approval shall, unless sooner revoked, be valid for—
(a) a minimum period of twenty-four months; or
(b) any other period less than twenty-four months as the Minister may determine,
beginning from the date of the approval.
(4) A tax agent may apply for a renewal of an approval to the Minister before the expiry of approval period specified under subsection (3) and if the application for renewal is approved, the renewal shall, unless sooner revoked, be valid for the period as the Minister may determine.
(5) A fee as may be prescribed by the Minister, by order published in the Gazette, shall be paid on the application for an approval under subsection (2) or renewal of an approval under subsection (4).
(6) A tax agent who transacts business on behalf of any person for any matter under this Act shall—
(a) produce a letter of authorization from the person whom he represents; and
(b) where any prescribed form is required to be submitted for the purposes of the matter being transacted, submit the form that has been signed by the person whom he represents, except where otherwise allowed by the Director General.
(7) Notwithstanding subsection (1), any person who is given permission to act as an agent under section 90 of the Customs Act 1967 shall be permitted to act in Malaysia on behalf of any person for any matter under this Act in relation to importation or exportation of goods, including transshipment.
(8) For the purposes of this section, “tax agent” means any professional accountant or any other person permitted by the Minister to act in Malaysia on behalf of any person for any matter under this Act.
(9) Any person who contravenes subsection (1) or (6) commits an offence.
Rewards
The Director General may order any reward as he deems fit to be paid to any person for services rendered in connection with the detection of any offence against this Act or any recovery of tax under this Act.
Forms to be used
(1) Where any form has been prescribed under this Act, no person shall, for the purposes of this Act, use any form which is not printed or issued by the authority of the Director General:
Provided that the Director General may, at his discretion and subject to such conditions as he deems fit to impose, permit any person to use forms which are not printed or issued as aforesaid or the use of any form submitted through electronic service.
(2) Any person who contravenes subsection (1) commits an offence.
Power of Director General to charge fees
The Director General may charge such fees as may be prescribed in respect of any act or service done or rendered by him or any officer and which is not required to be done or rendered under this Act and for which no fee is prescribed by any written law.
Application of customs legislation
(1) Subject to subsection (2), this Act shall be construed as one with the Customs Act 1967 or the Excise Act 1976 with regards to the exportation or importation of goods including in transit and the movement of goods under customs control.
(2) Where there is any inconsistency between the provisions of the Customs Act 1967 or the Excise Act 1976 and the provisions of this Act, the provisions of this Act shall prevail.
Protection of Government from liability
The Government shall not be liable to make good any loss sustained in respect of any goods by fire, theft, damage or other causes while the goods are in any customs warehouse or in the lawful custody or control of any officer of goods and services tax unless the loss is caused by the wilful neglect or default of an officer of goods and services tax or of a person employed by the Government in the course of carrying out his duties under this Act.
Protection of officer of goods and services tax from liability
No officer of goods and services tax or other person employed by the Government in the course of carrying out his duties under this Act shall be liable to make good any loss sustained in respect of any goods by fire, theft, damage or other causes while the goods are in any customs warehouse or in the lawful custody or control of the officer or any other officer of goods and services tax or person employed by the Government in the course of carrying out his duties under this Act unless the loss is caused by his wilful neglect or default.
Power to make regulations
(1) The Minister may make regulations as may be necessary or expedient for the purposes of carrying into effect the provisions of this Act.
(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), regulations may be made for the following purposes:
(a) to prescribe anything required by this Act to be prescribed;
(b) to vary the rules for determining where a supply of services is made for the purposes of place of supply under section 12;
(c) to prescribe the offices for the administration of the goods and services tax and for the days and times during which the offices may be opened for business;
(d) to determine the time of supply in cases where subsections 11(9) and 11(10) apply;
(e) to prescribe matters relating to registration or registered persons;
(f) to prescribe matters relating to accounting basis under section 37;
(g) to prescribe the following matters in relation to the credit of input tax against output tax under section 38:
(i) the manner and circumstances where—
(aa) a taxable person may treat the tax on the supply of goods or services to him, or the tax paid or to be paid by him on the importation of goods as his input tax;
(bb) a person may treat the tax on the supply of goods to him, or the tax paid or to be paid by him on the importation of goods as his input tax in the case where the person was not a taxable person at the time when the supply or importation was made; and
(cc) any person who has been but is no longer a taxable person, may be paid by the Director General any amount of any tax on the supply of services made to him when he was a taxable person;
(ii) the time limit for a taxable person to claim the whole or any part of any input tax as allowable input tax;
(h) to prescribe matters in relation to the allowable amount of input tax and to provide for securing a reasonable attribution of input tax to supply under section 39 including—
(i) determining a proportion by reference to which input tax for any taxable period is to be provisionally attributed to the supply;
(ii) adjusting, in accordance with a proportion determined in like manner for a period comprising two or more taxable periods or part thereof, the provisional attribution for any of those periods;
(iii) the making of adjustment where the estimate on the basis of which an attribution was made is inaccurate;
(i) to prescribe matters relating to the relief for bad debt under section 58;
(j) to prescribe for different provisions for the charging and accounting for tax for joint venture and for any other activity to be deemed as a joint venture under section 69;
(k) to prescribe the operation of the Approved Trader Scheme under section 71;
(l) to prescribe the operation of the Approved Toll Manufacturer Scheme under section 72;
(m) to prescribe the operation of the Approved Jeweller Scheme under section 73;
(n) to prescribe the operation of the Flat Rate Scheme under section 74;
(o) to prescribe matters relating to capital markets under section 75;
(p) to prescribe the following matters in relation to any ruling made under section 76 or 77:
(i) the scope and procedure that is to be applied relating to any ruling; and
(ii) the scale of costs and fees payable in respect of an advance ruling application;
(q) to prescribe the manner of furnishing returns and declarations and other matters relating to returns and declarations;
(r) to prescribe the manner of payment of tax;
(s) to prescribe the following matters in relation to the Goods and Services Tax Appeal Tribunal under Part XIII:
(i) manner in which any matter may be referred to the Tribunal;
(ii) the manner in which the Tribunal shall be convened and the place where the Tribunal shall hold its sittings;
(iii) the scale of costs and fees payable in respect of any inquiry or proceedings before the Tribunal;
(iv) the responsibilities of the members of the Tribunal;
(v) the forms to be used in the proceedings;
(vi) fees and the manner for collecting and disbursing the fees;
(vii) costs and expenses relating to any matter before the Tribunal;
(viii) generally the better carrying out of the functions assigned to the Tribunal by this Act;
(t) to prescribe matters relating to the approval of a tax agent under section 170;
(u) to prescribe the offences which may be compounded;
(v) to prescribe matters relating to electronic service.
(3) The regulations made under subsection (2) may prescribe any act in contravention of the regulations to be an offence and may prescribe penalties of a fine not exceeding thirty thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or both.
Source: Laws of Malaysia, Attorney General's Chambers of Malaysia (lom.agc.gov.my). Not a copy of the Gazette printed by the Government Printer (Interpretation Acts 1948 and 1967, s 61).
