MOF seeking feedback on draft changes to GST Act

THE Ministry of Finance (MOF) is proposing six changes to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Act and is seeking feedback on the draft amendment bill.

The changes are aimed at easing business compliance, clarify existing legislation or improve tax administration.

Among the changes is one that seeks to extend customer accounting for GST-registered real estate investment trusts (Reits) and their special-purpose vehicles (SPVs) to movable assets that are bought together with a non-residential property from the same seller.

Currently, to ease cash flow, customer accounting applies to the sale of non-residential property by a GST-registered supplier to a Reit or its SPV but not to movable assets sold together with the non-residential property.

GST-registered supplier has to apportion the selling price into the value of the unfurnished property and that of the movable assets. Now, the proposed change will ease business compliance by removing this need for apportionment, MOF said.

Another proposed change will result in GST treatment on the sale of government land with existing buildings to be demolished to consider the land's approved use, rather than the building's.

Currently, when government land is sold with an existing building to be demolished, the GST treatment depends on the approved use of the building, which may not reflect the approved use of the land. The change will provide more consistency in tax treatment for this category, MOF said.

One other proposed change pertains to electronic record-keeping requirements and additional requirement for invoice details for selected businesses.

Interested parties can provide their feedback on the draft GST (Amendment) Act 2017 from May 12 to June 4.