I doubt you once can escape paying the tax even if it is called "GST". Below is taken from Royal Malaysian Customs Department, Internal Tax Division - Putrajaya (26 October 2021) "GUIDE ON: CREDIT CARD & CHARGE CARD"

Rate of Service Tax
17. The rate of service tax to be imposed is RM 25 per card per year or part thereof for the activation or renewal of a principal or supplementary credit card or charge card.

Imposition of Service Tax
18. Service tax shall be imposed on the date of activation or renewal of the credit card or charge card or on every twelve months after the date the card is activated or
renewed.

Generally, so long a credit or charge card is issued to you by the FI, the rate of service tax is RM25 per card. (Although we see a deviation of this rule in dual cc products as they are seen as a single cc product) Annual Fee waivers have no effect on the imposition of the RM25 tax.

This post has been edited by hye: Sep 24 2024, 11:27 PM

The removal of card tax during the GST era has nothing to do with Annual Fee waivers. Customs defined the eligibility of the tax is tied to the issuance of the card and not AF. Btw ... there was an era where card was free (without conditions) and no card tax too. Happened during the 2000s. e.g Southern Bank, etc. I am certain there were no GST during this period in Malaysia. Card SST was first introduced in Jan 1, 2010 while GST came about in 2015.

You may discuss this subject with your tax advisor for clarity and you can check out all these info yourself if you wish to explore more. We are probably the only country in the world imposing such tax.

This post has been edited by hye: Sep 25 2024, 12:16 AM