KUALA LUMPUR: Local tour and travel agents have compiled their own Goods and Services Tax manual to help the industry navigate its way in the new system.

Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) president Hamzah Rahmat said the “GST Navigator for the Travel Industry” was aimed at making the tax adoption process less challenging.

“Travel agents find the adoption process very challenging because each product – ranging from outbound tours to domestic flight tickets to international cruises – are given different GST treatment,” he said at the launch here yesterday.

The 229-page manual, which is tailored for tourism industry players, is written by MATTA inbound vice-president Datuk Tan Kok Liang and accountants Kenneth Yong and Lee Fook Koon.

“Tan realised that what was needed was a detailed and hands-on presentation specifically for the tourism industry, rather than just relying on the overview provided by the Customs Department,” said Hamzah.

Tan also helped to identify 40 issues and grey areas in the implementation of the GST in the travel industry.

Hamzah also expressed MATTA’s appreciation to the department for its commitment to address several critical issues following the submission of a memorandum by the association.

“MATTA will continue working with Customs to ensure that the requirements of the GST are translated into a process that can be easily understood so that our members can submit proper reports,” he said.

Customs Department GST director Datuk T. Subromaniam praised MATTA for compiling a comprehensive guideline for its members.

“MATTA is the first association to come up with a GST manual. We hope other industries will follow. We need cooperation from the private sector to help ease the teething problems faced in implementing the GST.”

Tan said the manual does not include details, such as credit card charges, pending discussions with the department on contentious issues.

-The Star