Malaysian Customs officials hit with nearly 3,000 calls on first day of GST
PUTRAJAYA — Officials from the Customs Department were bombarded with nearly 3,000 calls to its GST hotline on the first day of the consumption tax taking effect.
Shoppers at a supermarket in Malaysia. Photo: Malay Mail Online
PUTRAJAYA — Officials from the Customs Department were bombarded with nearly 3,000 calls to its GST hotline on the first day of the consumption tax taking effect.
Its GST director Subromaniam Tholasy said the calls were from traders as well as from the general public, adding that some were on the line for up to 30 minutes.
“Our call centres were very, very busy. Not just the main call centre in Kelana Jaya, but also at our headquarters as well as all the states,” he told reporters at a joint news conference with the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry secretary-general Alias Ahmad at the Finance Ministry here.
“We received almost 3,000 calls until 3pm just now. Of course, not all the calls were answered,” he added.
Mr Subromaniam explained that the lines were clogged because some of the callers had many questions.
“The problem is when the callers call in, they will hang on, sometimes for up to 30 minutes, even when the line was so busy and they have more than one question. That’s one of the reasons.” MALAY MAIL ONLINE
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