KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 2): Independent tax adviser Taxand Malaysia Sdn Bhd said the potential merger of Royal Malaysian Customs Department (customs) with the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) could actually ease auditing matters as the collection of good and services, and income taxes will be housed under one roof. As such, Taxand Malaysia chairman Dr Veerinderjeet Singh said he is looking forward to the possible merger, which was reported by a local newspaper late last month, as it could result in improved efficiency in tax collection. "When the GST was announced, many of us were consulted by the authority and we had proposed that the GST be managed by the IRB. But this could not be done because GST was under customs, a government department, while IRB is a corporatised department. Moreover, Veerinderjeet said the Collection Intelligence Arrangement (CIA) is a good measure and idea which would improve tax compliance while ensuring that the information gathered is integrated and cohesive.

Source: The Edge Markets November 02, 2016 13:53 UTC