KUALA LUMPUR: No legal action will be taken against companies if they were to register for the Goods and Services Tax (GST) by Feb 28, 2015, Royal Malaysian Customs Department director-general Datuk Seri Khazali Ahmad said.

He said, however, action would be taken against those who failed to do so and a crackdown would be launched against errant traders from Mar 1.

“In accordance with the provisions in the GST Act 2014, companies that failed to register for the tax regime by Feb 28 will be forcibly registered and legal action will be taken against them.

“Hence, we urge traders to take this opportunity to register for the GST to avoid legal action from being taken against them,” he said in a statement.

Khazali said the department was being flexible in assisting traders as it had received many appeals for the registration deadline to be extended in the run-up to the GST implementation on April 1.

Under Section 184 of the GST Act 2014, companies or individuals generating taxable income exceeding RM500,000 annually must register under the Act.           

Failing to do, companies may be liable to a fine not exceeding RM30,000 or imprisonment up to two years or both.

Khazali said as of Jan 29, a total of 308,400 companies had registered for the GST. – Bernama