“As long as the TCM practitioners are registered under the Act with the health ministry, they will be exempted from the service tax that will come into effect on March 1, 2024,” second finance minister Amir Hamzah Azizan said during a special interview today.

He said in line with this decision, TCM practitioners who have registered with Act 775 do not need to enlist with the customs department.

This will include those involved in Malay, Chinese medicine or Indian traditional medicine, homeopathy, chiropractic, osteopathy and Islamic medical practices.

“The finance ministry has also agreed that this decision also applies to services provided by medical or wellness centres, massage parlours or other such places managed by TCM practitioners registered under Act 775 for these services for the period before March 1, 2024,” he said.

Commenting on the government’s decision, Amir said it took into account the feedback from discussions and engagement sessions with stakeholders in the TCM industry.

Amir said the service tax exemption for TCM services is one of the efforts to increase the people’s well-being as has been stressed under the “Madani Economy Framework: Empowering the People” concept.

“This decision has been agreed by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who is also the finance minister, as a move to improve the comfort and well-being of the people.

“At the same time, the Madani economy framework will also aggressively empower the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) sector, which employs almost half of the workforce in Malaysia,” he said.

Amir said the government agreed there is still a long way to go for the local MSMEs to expand and enter the international arena.

“As such, these entrepreneurs are dependent on domestic demand for their business survival at present, more so for MSMEs which provide services to Malaysian citizens,” he added.