e-Invoicing Deferment Provides Much-Needed 'headroom' For SMEs -- FMM

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 5 (Bernama) -- The Federation of Malaysian Manufacturing (FMM) views the deferment of e-invoicing as a pragmatic step that acknowledges the readiness gap among micro and small enterprises, particularly in terms of digital capability, systems integration, and compliance costs.

Its president, Jacob Lee, said that similarly, the upward revision of the service tax threshold on rental services will help ease cost pressures for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), especially manufacturers and supporting service providers that operate from rented premises due to limited financial capacity to purchase or build their own facilities.

“For many smaller businesses, rental expenses represent a fixed and unavoidable cost, and relief from additional tax burdens provides much-needed headroom to manage cash flow, invest in productivity improvements, and support business continuity,” he told Bernama. 

Today, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced that mandatory e-invoicing for companies with annual sales of between RM1 million and RM5 million, originally scheduled to take effect from Jan 1, 2026, has been extended by a year without any penalty being imposed. Anwar said the government decided to postpone it because some companies are not yet ready due to the high cost of implementing e-invoicing.

-- BERNAMA