Submission Done

This was going to be my 3-monthly ritual form now on. Submitting the GST, which was due at the end of this month. The paperwork alone was a bit of a nightmare, but hopefully I got everything in order. The fact that the under the law, it carried a criminal penalty did not help matter.

But the Customs Department had streamlined its process and payment had been less of a pain. I was able to do everything online, with the payment linked straight into my bank account. I didn't have to physically open my chequebook or take a trip to the bank for this one.

I must say I had been having sleepless nights thinking about all this and certainly its combination with the economic downturn was starting to take its toll. Prices were all going out while salaries remained stagnant, or in some cases coming down for those unfortunate enough not being able to retain their job. Best to take stock during this time of economic downturn to plan ahead ....

Grow & Share Together

Being a good citizen that I was, my first ever physical contribution to the GST happened this morning. Right after my ward round, I went to my favourite breakfast place and duly contributed.

The had a new till machine install to capture the GST portion of the bills which I was sure would help with the Customs payment later. Took a bit longer than usual but the staff finally figured out what to do. I lost my receipt though. Damn!

Where's everybody?Back to the lounge during lunchtime, I wondered what was going on. The room was practically empty? Are there some makan thing going on which I didn't know. Or was it that the clinics were all cancelled and everybody were on leave?‎

The GST is Here

It looked like everything at the hospital had been geared up towards the GST implementation. It was not without apprehension judging by the number of times the Customs Department had been changing their kind as far as Doctor's GST status was concerned.

Our main fear was the public perception as we were now obliged to collect GST from them without the actual GST phrase appearing on their receipt. Devious to be quite honest but that was the directive. The public then would be able to asked for a more detailed bill with the GST clearly stated should they wish.

The law was pretty strict as far as the collection was concerned. And because of this, I had to agree with the hospital system of invoicing. They would handle the paperwork and the collection - plus most importantly the public outcry and complaints when it came to that. I don't want to spend the time explaining to the patients about their charges.

So, the big change started later at midnight. Hoping that there won't be any glitch. ‎

GST Fever

Although the deadline for GST registration was looming, there was no end to the confusion on the actual program. Almost every week, there were new amendment, and the uncertainly was really eating away on us Doctors. The rumours that GST would not be charged onto patients was going to be a myth, but the Customs were not doing a good job informing the public of this fact.

It looked like everybody would be in for a shock come April Fools Day. I could just imagine how my patients would act when they see their bill.

So, yesterday, I had another briefing given by a Tax agent on how to handle the incoming uncertainty. I left the room with more apprehension than I started. It would be a nightmare once the system is implemented, as the amount of paperwork and submission I had to do every quarter would be a headache. And apparently you must use the services of a certified tax agent for the auditing. This would cost extra money and frankly unnecessary. And the agent who gave us the briefing unashamedly asked us to use his service and buy his software to help us deal with the invoicing. And that was the point when I left the room ....

So, I'm bracing myself for a stuttering start when GST would be implemented. Not really saying that I was looking forward to it ...

GST

The topic on everybody's mind at the hospital lately had been GST. Or Goods and Services Tax. Akin to the VAT in the UK. Will we as Doctors be affected by this new ruling?

The management got the Consultants from Ernest and Young in to brief is on the impact it would have on us. It appeared that we would be exempted. It may sound good initially but that carried some major draw back. It seemed that we would not be able to charge our customers GST for services but we were subjected to GST for rentals and equipment. Not exactly fair wasn't it.

The ruling had yet to be tested, and there would be uncertainty at the beginning. Some teething problems. Praying that in the end things would work out for the better.