SIBU: The Finance Ministry has been urged to reconsider the imposition of Sales and Service Tax (SST) on traditional and complementary medicine (T&CM) even if the imposition is only applicable to the medical services and not the products offered by alternative medicine providers.
In making the call, Sarawak Democratic Action Party (DAP) political education director Irene Chang said T&CM services have been recognised and certified internationally and the global current trend is to integrate and combine the T&CM services with western and modern medicine.
“In Malaysia, T&CM is a legitimate practice that is recognised by the Ministry of Health (MoH). Indeed, more and more hospitals in Malaysia, including our Sarawak General Hospital in Kuching and Hospital Likas in Sabah are offering the practice of both Western and T&CM medicine alongside each other in some departments in their healthcare system.
“For the private T&CM medical practioners, the government has been encouraging them to register with the T&CM Council since March 2021 and from February 29, 2024, all of them are required to register with the Council before they are allowed to carry on with their practice.
“This is a clear recognition by the MoH of the importance of the TCM medicine in ensuring the best healthcare delivery to Malaysians,” she said in a press statement here today.
The former Bukit Assek assemblywoman said the Finance Ministry should thus work in tandem with the MoH, in not imposing SST on the delivery of T&CM medicine, be it in services and products.
She asserted that it should revisit the guidelines dated September 21, 2021 of the Customs Department to direct that the medical services and products offered by the registered T&CM practitioners should be parked in the excluded list of Group C of Table 1 which provides for both the list of taxable services and the excluded list.
Therefore, she pointed out the excluded list should include any facilities registered under the Private Healthcare Facilities and Service Act 1998, any government healthcare facilities, any facilities managed by any university established under the Universities and University College Act 1971 or Universiti Teknologi MARA Act 1976 for healthcare purpose and any facilities registered under the T&CM Council.
“I understand that with the huge current government debt, the Finance Ministry is eager to increase the government revenue in order to better provide for public services and infrastructure and other needs of the people.
“However, I call on the Finance Ministry to re-strategise this step as the government should give top priority to encourage people to spend more on their well-being and healthcare needs, in particular, to address the pandemic-related healthcare needs of the people which may be met through T&CM medicine.
“With the imposition of SST and which is to be increased to eight per cent in March 2024, this would deter many people from spending more on their well-being and healthcare needs,” Chang added.
