SANDAKAN – The increase in sales and service tax (SST) from 6% to 8% will impact some 17% of consumers in Sandakan, who will pay more for electricity.
The higher SST, effective March 1, will affect users whose monthly bill is more than RM203 (over 600 kWh usage) per month), said Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) chief executive officer, Mohd Yaakob Jaafar
“The SST hike is expected to impact 95,982 account users or 16.72% users only, not all users.
“SESB will continue to monitor and be ready to assist to help users understand should there be any complication during this transition,” he said in a statement today.
He said further inquiries relating to SST hike on electricity bills can be directed to SESB’s official website at www.sesb.com.my.
SESB’s statement raises questions about comments by Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali yesterday that the National Action Council on Cost of Living (Naccol) was going to discuss a proposal to exempt water and electricity bills from the SST hike.
Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah have different authorities in charge of electricity supply, namely Tenaga Nasional Berhad in the former and SESB for the latter.
The SST increase starting Friday will apply to all services, except for those in the food and beverage, telecommunications, and parking sectors. – February 28, 2024