By V Sanjugtha

Joint Management Bodies (JMBs) and Management Committees (MCs) will be subject to the Goods and Services Tax for the collection of management and maintenance fees, according to Wong Kok Soo, group managing director of property consultancy Burgess Rawson.

Thus, poor collection will be a burden on these bodies as they will be required to pay the GST irrespective of collection, says Wong, a member of the select drafting committee for the Strata Management Act 2013 (Act 757) and select working committee on the Strata Management Regulations 2014.

He explains the Royal Malaysian Customs Department will however allow a tax refund on unpaid fees. If the collection of fees falls short of 100% of tenancy, and the proprietors fail to meet fee payments within six months, the MCs or JMBs may submit a written request to Customs for a GST refund.

“The concept is to ensure the GST is duly paid and to allow the MCs to claim their input tax,” says Wong, who is involved in aiding Customs to understand the property management industry.