SHAH ALAM, March 23 – While most Malaysians are bracing themselves to pay more when the Goods and Services Tax (GST) comes into effect in nine days, Domino’s Pizza Malaysia has promised its prices won’t be raised. Claiming that some of its menu items could in fact be cheaper, general manager of operations Shamsul Amree said this is due to Domino’s passing on its GST savings to customers. “The (GST) input tax will give us savings and we aim to pass these savings on to our customers,” he explained.
He noted that many don’t realise the current sales and services tax (SST) has a cumulative effect whereas GST allows for the 6% tax applied to be recovered at every stage of the production value chain. The Customs Department had previously illustrated during roadshows since last year that the cumulative effect of SST could see costs to the consumer rising by 50% or more, if there were three links to the production value chain – whereas the tax applied remains at 6% with the GST due to producers being able to reclaim input tax.
“We are working with suppliers and other parts of the supply chain to ensure they don’t increase the prices,” said Shamsul. “We also looked at our processes to ensure there are no wastages.” The pizza chain will also be adding a price checker on their website for customers to compare prices before and after the campaign, he said. “The new prices will show the nett amount inclusive of tax. Before April 1, customers pay government tax while after April 1, customers will pay GST.
“The amount inclusive of tax is the same or lower than what you paid before, thus, what you see is what you pay.“ Senior manager of marketing Linda Hassan added: “We have been preparing for this since mid last year by getting the right consultants and training our employees on the entire process.” Domino’s also unveiled a range of its latest offerings – the Golden Chicken, oven-baked chicken tenders with combinations of toppings, sauces and mozzarella cheese. “The new range consist of four different varieties, the Golden Mediterranean Chicken with Napolitana sauce, Golden Outback Chicken with BBQ sauce, Golden Mexican Chicken with salsa sauce and Golden Italiano Chicken with pesto sauce,” said Shamsul.
