KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 3): Shopee, a leading e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia and Taiwan, said that it will comply with the digital tax that is to be implemented on Jan 1 next year.
The Government plans to impose a digital service tax of six per cent on foreign digital service providers from Jan 1, 2020.
Shopee Malaysia head of business Zed Li believes the Government will make the best decision for the country and the industry.
“If the tax is implemented, we will comply with the move; and we are here to work together with the Government and we would appreciate if the Government would engage the private sector on these decisions,” he told reporters after launching a Buy Malaysia online campaign with Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail here today.
Also present was the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry’s deputy secretary-general (domestic trade) Datuk Badrul Hisham Mohd.
Shopee is partnering with the Ministry to bring the Buy Malaysia campaign online and to the region to encourage the purchase of Malaysian-made products and help local entrepreneurs grow their businesses.
Li said currently, there are 130 Malaysian-made product sellers participating in the campaign, offering over 2,300 products that include beauty and fashion products, food and beverages and home appliances.
“The collaboration with the Ministry will run until the end of the year, and the campaign participants can benefit from the 10.10 Brands Festivals to the global 11.11 and 12.12 mega shopping events,” he said.
To ensure prominent visibility of Malaysian-made products on the online platform, Li said a Buy Malaysia collection page had been created for the customers to discover truly Malaysian items such as sambal belacan and curry paste.
He said a new Shopee International Platform will be introduced soon to enable Malaysian entrepreneurs to expand their businesses to international markets.
Shopee currently has about 20 million downloads in Malaysia and more than 200 million downloads in the region.
(Source taken from The Edge Markets