The Royal Malaysian Customs Department (‘RMCD’) announced on 30 September 2021 that the Minister of Finance has agreed to postpone the implementation of the imposition of tourism tax on accommodation premises booked through digital platform service providers (‘DPSPs’), such as Airbnb, Hotels.com and Booking.com.
 
The key points in the RMCD’s announcement are as follows:

• Tourism Tax (Digital Platform Service Provider Tax Rate) Order 2021 - 1 January 2023; 


• Tourism Tax (Digital Platform Service Provider Tax Rate) (Exemption) Order 2021 – 1 January 2023; and 


• Tourism Tax (Digital Platform Service Provider) Regulations 2021 –
  Parts II and V and regulations 16 and 17 - 1 October 2022; and
  Parts III, IV and VI (except regulations 16 and 17) - 1 January 2023.

The postponement of the imposition of tourism tax on accommodation premises booked through DPSPs may be a measure to assist domestic accommodation providers by reducing the costs for foreign tourists to visit Malaysia. This initiative is in line with a statement by the Minister of Finance that the Malaysian Government will focus on several sectors which are badly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, including tourism, in the Malaysian Budget 2022¹ to be announced on 29 October 2021.
 
This is the second time that the Malaysian Government has postponed the imposition of tourism tax on accommodation premises booked through DPSPs.

Our earlier write-up on the imposition of tourism tax on accommodation premises booked through DPSPs can be accessed here.
 
Alert by Kok Chee Kheong (Partner) and Vanessa Ho (Associate) of the Corporate Division of Skrine.

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