What GST Means to You as a Student

by StudyMalaysia.com on April 13, 2015 | Top Stories

On 1 April 2015, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) was introduced in Malaysia spurring a frenzy of receipt images on social media of people making their first GST payment. Also hot in the news were complaints on GST confusion and consumers alleging that they've been charged GST by companies that are not registered to collect this tax.

As a higher education student, your tuition fees are not subject to GST. Books are also on the GST-exempt list. Even the rental you pay for accommodation is exempt from this tax. So is it all rosy for a student? The answer is, not quite.

GST Here are some things you consume regularly which you will be paying GST for:

stationery
petrol and parking (for those who drive)
telephone bill, broadband and mobile internet bill
electricity bill (if it's not included in your rental)
clothes
food at restaurants
banking services
tuition fees (if you're taking extra classes outside)

As a student, you're probably not looking forward to paying extra for the things you consumes. While GST is inevitable and here to stay, you should be a bit more savvy in knowing when you need to pay GST. The Royal Malaysian Customs recommends that consumers ensure that they pay GST only to those businesses which have been duly registered and authorised to charge GST.

To check a company's GST status, click here. Click on the “Lookup GST Status” on the bottom right to start your search. You can check the GST-registration status of the company using its business name, business registration number, or its GST number. If there is a match, that means the business has been registered for GST and authorised to charge GST.

To understand more about what is subject to GST, you can read more about it here and if you want to know in detail how GST affects you, read more here.