Crowe Horwath’s team to address concerns about GST

Published: Sunday January 19, 2014 MYT 12:00:00 AM 

Updated: Sunday January 19, 2014 MYT 2:33:53 PM

KUCHING: Crowe Horwath now has a dedicated Goods and Services Tax (GST) team here to address its clients’ concerns about the new tax.

Its partner Chai Tze Chek said the team was set up in response to the many queries and issues the company had received since the Government announced its intention to impose GST with effect from April 1 next year.

“The team will assist our clients in ensuring that they are GST ready,” he said.

Crowe Horwath managing partner Poon Yew Hoe said GST was a broad-based consumption tax that would necessitate changes in the way organisations capture and document their transactions.

“These organisations, including many government bodies, will need to ensure that their IT and accounting systems are able to maintain their records in a timely manner,” he said during a seminar titled “Are you ready for GST” conducted by Crowe Horwath here yesterday.

Tax executive director Fennie Lim added that GST would affect an organisation’s pricing strategy to remain competitive and its cash flows, while existing long-term legal contracts would also need to be reviewed.

“Crowe Horwath is actively assisting our clients to identify gaps and shortfalls in their current operating processes which need to be addressed.

“As some of these modifications may take time to implement, our advice is to conduct your impact assessment early,” she said.

The seminar participants came away with a comprehensive understanding of the GST mechanism and its current issues.

They were also better able to initiate and identify potential issues and matters of concerns for their respective organisations.