According to a Bernama report two days ago, a Finance Ministry spokesman has said that the price of RON 97 for the month of April, which is the same as March, is inclusive of Goods and Service Tax (GST) of 6 %.
Something just does not add up and the government must explain why RON 97 is not priced cheaper than RM 2.25 per litre.
Logically speaking, RON 97 should cost more in April with the imposition of GST if no other factor is involved. The price has remained unchanged.
But the fact is that RON 97 should in fact be cheaper with the imposition of GST. This is because with GST imposed, the sales tax of RM 58 sen per litre should be abolished.
On June 7, 2012, former Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob had said in a statement that a sales tax of RM 58 sen per litre was imposed on RON 97, but not for RON 95.
There has been no announcement of the withdrawal of this sales tax on RON 97 since Ismail Sabri made the statement.
With the imposition of GST on April 1, such sales tax can longer be imposed.
Since the GST amount is lower than 58 sen per litre, then the new RON 97 should therefore be cheaper.
Why is it then that the April price for RON 97 remains unchanged?
Is the government saying that it has abolished the sales tax of RM 58 sen per litre, and the GST amount imposed is also 58 sen per litre? If this is the case, show the public your calculation.
Or is it that there were other factors that have resulted in the April price remaining the same ? And if so, what were they and why was RON 95 price not affected at all?
Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Ahmad Maslan and Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Datuk Seri Hasan Malek must explain to the public why RON 97 is not priced lower than the present price of RM 2.25 per litre.