Alternately, the Malaysian Chinese Medicine Association (MCMA) and Malaysian Association of Traditional Indian Medicine (Matim) may decide to pay the accrued sum.

“Our Chinese TCM providers will seek advice from their tax consultants after the meeting with the customs,” Malaysian Chinese Medicine Association (MCMA) president Heng Aik Teng told FMT.

“At the moment, we will not issue any instructions.”

However, Heng said he remains wary of the impact on their customers.

“I’m not saying we don’t want to pay, but I personally think our customers will have to bear it, and this will affect the industry,” he said.

Last Thursday, China Press reported that TCM providers were shocked after they received letters from the customs department in mid-December, notifying them of a retrospective imposition of the SST on certain TCM services from 2018.

According to the customs’ general guide for service tax 2018, certain TCM services are taxable, specifically under Group C with a threshold value of RM500,0000.

Group C also includes nightclubs, dance halls, cabarets, health and wellness centres, massage parlours, public houses and beer houses. However, medical consultations and prescription of medicine are exempted.

Heng also said TCM should not be lumped together with nightclubs and massage parlours as their industry provided “essential services, and not recreational ones”.

Matim president T Sivakkumaran said they would wait for the meeting as they are uncertain about how the accrued tax has been calculated.

“Isn’t it already five years late? So, how do they (the government) want us to go through the repayment?. This is confusing.

“And I don’t think the total sales for some of our TCM businesses would exceed RM500,000 a year,” he said.

Nevertheless, Sivakkumaran said he has informed members of the association about the matter, though he has yet to receive a response from them.