After being postponed and amended several times, the government will finally go ahead to implement the tourism tax scheme on Sept 1.

Tourism and Culture Minister Nazri Abdul Aziz said the Customs Department already has the tax collection mechanism in place, and his ministry’s officers were out to ensure that all eligible hotels are registered for the scheme.

“We are ready. I was informed by the Customs Department that they will be ready in time for Sept 1.

“We have to start somewhere, so this year, we have to start on Sept 1,” Nazri told a press conference at the Kuala Lumpur Crafts Complex today after launching the four-day Pasareka Design Market.

The scheme is expected to collect RM200 million in its first year. From the collections, 10 percent would be given to the governments of the states where the tax is collected, while the remainder would be used by the Tourism Ministry for activities such as promotions and developing tourism infrastructure.

It was initially to be implemented on local and foreign tourists alike, starting July 1, at the rate of between RM2.50 and RM20 per room, depending on the room rating.

This was later postponed to Aug 1 because the Royal Customs Department was reportedly not ready to implement it, and then was revised to exclude Malaysians staying in hotels rated three-stars and below.

It was then revised again to exclude all Malaysians, while foreigners would have to pay a flat rate of RM10 a day, regardless of the quality of the room they stay in. 

Subsequently, the implementation of the tourism tax was postponed to Sept 1.

PKR communications director Fahmi Fadzil criticised the flip-flop, saying it showed that the government had rushed on its policy, instead of holding adequate consultations.