KUALA LUMPUR: The service tax is only imposed if allied health services are provided outside premises that have been granted tax exemption approval, said the Ministry of Finance (MOF).
The ministry said that under current legislation, tax exemption is given if the allied health services are provided in government clinics or hospitals, private clinics or hospitals, as well as university hospitals.
“The imposition of service tax on allied health services is not a new matter. These services were already taxed during the Sales and Service Tax (SST) 1.0 era and the Goods and Services Tax (GST) starting on April 1, 2015. The same policy continued when SST 2.0 was implemented starting on Sept 1, 2018,“ said MOF in a written response published on the official parliament website on Tuesday (March 4).
The ministry was responding to a question from Wong Chen (PH-Subang) regarding the government’s position on exempting allied healthcare services (complementary and alternative medicine) from SST.
However, the government will continue to review and assess this need in the future, said the MOF.
“This review needs to take into account various aspects, especially to ensure that any tax exemption provides appropriate benefits to service users, particularly in terms of cost to users and the safety of service premises,“ it added.
The MOF stated that allied health services are regulated by the Ministry of Health through the enforcement of the Allied Health Professions Act 2016 [Act 774]. The list of allied health professions recognised by the government is provided in Schedule Two of Act 774, which includes dietitians, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, and speech-language therapists.
