Summary of Responses to Public Consultation on Draft Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill 2017
23 Aug 201730 suggestions are accepted and incorporated into the upcoming amendment Bill
1. The Ministry of Finance (MOF) conducted a public consultation exercise on the draft Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill 2017 from 12 May to 4 June 2017[1]. The draft Bill provided for six changes to ease business compliance, clarify existing legislation or improve tax administration.
2. Most of the feedback received focused on the following tax changes[2]:
- Extend customer accounting to prescribed supplies commonly used in GST fraud
- Provide for electronic record keeping requirements and additional requirement for invoice details for selected businesses
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Provide for basis to implement an “opt-out” approach for digital tax notices
3. MOF received a total of 41 suggestions, of which 30 suggestions are accepted, with consequent revisions to be made to the draft text of the Bill. The remaining suggestions are not accepted, as they are inconsistent either with the legislative drafting conventions or the policy objectives of the proposed legislative changes.
4. MOF would like to thank all individuals and organisations who have taken the time and effort to provide their inputs.
Ministry of Finance
23 August 2017
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[1] Please refer to the earlier press release for further information.
[2] A summary of the common feedback is appended in Annex A.