# SST in Malaysia: Which Tax Are You Actually Dealing With?

> A routing page for Malaysia's Sales and Service Tax — how the two taxes differ, why there is no single SST threshold or rate, and which detailed guide answers your question.

- Category: taxation
- Language: en
- Status: published
- Updated: 2026-07-20
- Canonical: https://negaraku.md/en/taxation/sst-explained

---

SST is described everywhere as "the GST replacement", which is the least useful
thing you can say about it. GST was one tax, one rate, one threshold, charged at
every stage with credit for the stage before. SST is **two unrelated taxes**,
each single-stage, neither offering a general input tax credit, with rates and
thresholds that vary by what you sell.

The first question is therefore not "am I SST-registered" but "which of the two
is this".

## Sales tax or service tax?

| | Sales tax | Service tax |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Statute | Sales Tax Act 2018 | Service Tax Act 2018 |
| What is taxed | Taxable goods manufactured in Malaysia, and goods imported | Prescribed taxable services provided in Malaysia |
| Who charges it | Registered manufacturers; Customs on import | Registered providers of services in the prescribed groups |
| Stage | Once, at manufacture or import | Once, at the point of service |
| Rate | Set by goods class | Set by service group |
| Threshold | By reference to taxable goods | By group, from nil to RM1,500,000 |
| Relief mechanism | Schedule A, B and C facilities | Group-by-group B2B exemption and intra-group relief |

A retailer buying already-taxed goods from a registered manufacturer does not
charge sales tax again on resale. The tax is embedded in the price it paid. That
is what "single stage" means, and it is why chasing input tax credits under SST
is wasted effort.

## Which guide you need

| If your question is | Read |
| --- | --- |
| Do I have to register, and at what turnover? | [SST registration thresholds by service group](/en/taxation/sst-registration) |
| What rate applies to my service? | [Service tax groups A to M reference](/en/taxation/sst-rate-table) |
| How does sales tax on goods work? | [Sales tax in Malaysia](/en/taxation/sales-tax-explained) |
| What changed on 1 July 2025? | [The 1 July 2025 service tax expansion](/en/taxation/sst-expansion-2025) |
| How and when do I file? | [Filing SST-02](/en/taxation/sst-02-filing) |
| Can I avoid tax on services bought from another registered business? | [The SST B2B exemption](/en/taxation/sst-b2b-exemption) |
| I bought services from a supplier outside Malaysia | [Imported taxable services and SST-02A](/en/taxation/imported-taxable-services) |

## Three things worth knowing before you read any of them

**There is no single registration threshold.** The RM500,000 figure repeated
across the internet is one threshold among several. Groups carry their own, some
were raised to RM1,000,000 by corrigendum in 2025, and some services have no
threshold at all.

**Exempted revenue can still count.** Revenue that ends up exempt under a B2B
facility may still count toward the registration test. Registration and
liability are different questions and are answered by different provisions.

**Being unregistered does not make you safe on imports.** Service tax on
imported taxable services reaches any person acquiring such a service in
carrying on business, registered or not, with no threshold at all — declared on
Form SST-02A. This is the single most commonly missed SST liability among small
Malaysian companies buying foreign software and professional services.

## Common mistakes

- Treating SST as GST and attempting to claim input tax credits. There is no
  general credit mechanism in either Act.
- Assuming one rate and one threshold apply across the board.
- Checking turnover once a year instead of on a rolling basis, and registering
  late with backdated liability.
- Skipping a nil SST-02 return in a period with no tax due. It is still required.
- Assuming no registration means no exposure, and missing the imported taxable
  services charge.

## What's next

Start with registration if you are unsure whether you are in scope at all, since
that answer determines everything else. If you already know you are registered
and simply need the current rate for a service group, go straight to the rate
and threshold reference.

## Sources

- Royal Malaysian Customs Department — MySST — https://mysst.customs.gov.my/ (RMCD)
- Royal Malaysian Customs Department — legislation — https://www.customs.gov.my/en/legislation/acts (RMCD)

---
Source of truth: https://github.com/negaraku-md/NegaraKu.md
License: CC BY-SA 4.0