By BERNAMA / Pic By ISMAIL CHE RUS

Foreign-registered digital service providers are required to register with the Royal Malaysian Customs Department for easier collection of the 6% service tax beginning January next year. 

Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Amiruddin Hamzah (picture) said registration starts from Oct 1 until Dec 31 this year.

“We hope the big players, the likes of Netflix Inc and others, will register and pay (the service tax), which is not high compared to the rates in other countries.

“We proposed 6% so that there will be a level playing field between the domestic service providers which have already paid 6%,” he told reporters after delivering a speech at the Kuala Lumpur International Financial Forum 2019 yesterday.

Yesterday, the Dewan Rakyat passed the Service Tax (Amendment) Bill 2019 aimed at ensring a balanced ecosystem.

During the tabling of Budget 2019 on Nov 2 last year, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng repotedly said the government would impose and remit tax on digital service providers, including software, music, video or any other digital advertisements beginning January 2020. — Bernama