SST-02 Filing Guide for Malaysian SMEs: Who Files, When, and How
Who must file the SST-02 service tax return, current 8%/6% rates, registration thresholds after the July 2025 expansion, deadlines and late-payment penalties.
TL;DR — SST-02 is the service tax return that every business registered for Service Tax files with the Royal Malaysian Customs Department (RMCD), normally every two months. It is filed online through RMCD’s MySST system (not LHDN’s MyTax), and it is due by the last day of the month after your taxable period ends. The standard service tax rate is 8%; food and beverage, telecommunications, parking and logistics stay at 6%. IntBooks prepares the service tax figures for your period from your invoices; you then file and pay on MySST.
Service Tax was reintroduced on 1 September 2018 (RMCD, MySST background). It applies only to the services listed in the Service Tax Regulations. It is administered by RMCD, not LHDN.
The scope widened on 1 July 2025, when leasing or rental, construction, financial services, private healthcare and education were added (MOF, 9 June 2025). If your business wasn’t in scope before mid-2025, check again.
Who needs to file SST-02?
You file SST-02 if you are registered for Service Tax. You must register when the value of the taxable services you provide in a 12-month period exceeds the threshold for your service group. You can also register voluntarily (Service Tax Act 2018, s.14).
The thresholds depend on the service group:
| Service group | Registration threshold | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Most groups, e.g. accommodation, professional services (legal, accounting, engineering, consulting, management, IT), advertising, telecommunications, parking, logistics | RM500,000 | MySST registration page |
| Food and beverage | RM1,500,000 | MySST registration page |
| Credit card and charge card services | No threshold | MySST registration page |
| Leasing or rental; financial services (added 1 Jul 2025) | RM1,000,000 | MOF, 28 June 2025 |
| Construction; private healthcare to non-citizens (added 1 Jul 2025) | RM1,500,000 | MOF appendix, June 2025 |
The expanded groups carry exemptions that are not shown here, such as B2B relief and residential construction. Read the MOF appendix and RMCD’s guide for your group before deciding you are in or out of scope.
What are the current service tax rates?
The standard rate is 8%, in force since 1 March 2024. 6% applies to food and beverage, telecommunications, parking and logistics (RMCD, MySST background; MySST FAQ). Credit and charge cards carry a fixed RM25 instead of a percentage.
The groups added on 1 July 2025 have their own rates (MOF appendix):
- 8% for leasing or rental and for fee- or commission-based financial services;
- 6% for construction, for private healthcare to non-citizens, and for education.
When is SST-02 due?
SST-02 is due on the last day of the month after your taxable period ends (Service Tax Act 2018, s.26(1); MySST FAQ). You pay the tax by the same date.
A taxable period is normally two months ending on the last day of a month (s.25(1)). RMCD sets your cycle when you register, so it doesn’t have to start in January. Check the taxable period on your registration.
For example, a business whose periods run January–February, March–April and so on files:
| Period | Due date |
|---|---|
| January – February | 31 March |
| March – April | 31 May |
| May – June | 31 July |
| July – August | 30 September |
| September – October | 30 November |
| November – December | 31 January (next year) |
You must file a return even when no tax is due (s.26(5)).
What happens if I pay late?
If the tax is paid late, a penalty is added to the amount still unpaid (s.26(7); MySST FAQ):
| Period after the due date | Penalty on the unpaid tax |
|---|---|
| First 30 days | 10% |
| Second 30 days | a further 15% |
| Third 30 days | a further 15% |
The total is capped at 40%. Failing to file a return, or filing an incorrect one, is a separate offence. It carries a fine of up to RM50,000, up to three years’ imprisonment, or both (s.26(6)).
What goes into the SST-02 return?
At a high level, the return declares the value of the taxable services you provided in the period and the service tax due at each rate. As a registered person, you also account for any imported taxable services in the same return (RMCD notice on imported taxable services).
We don’t reproduce the form’s item-by-item layout here. Follow RMCD’s current SST-02 guideline on MySST when you complete it.
When does service tax become due on an invoice?
Service tax is due when you receive payment, not when you issue the invoice (Service Tax Act 2018, s.11(1)). If some or all of the payment is still outstanding 12 months after you provided the service, the tax becomes due on the day after that 12-month period ends (s.11(2)).
Once you’ve paid tax on a debt that turns out to be unrecoverable, you can claim a bad-debt refund (s.35). The conditions are:
- you have written the debt off in your accounts;
- RMCD is satisfied you made reasonable efforts to recover it;
- you claim within six years of paying the tax.
Do I pay service tax on services I buy from overseas?
Often, yes. Service tax has applied to imported taxable services since 1 January 2019 (RMCD Guide on Digital Services, para 9). If you buy a taxable service from a provider outside Malaysia in the course of your business, you account for the tax yourself:
- registered businesses declare it in their SST-02 for the relevant taxable period;
- businesses that aren’t registered use the separate SST-02A declaration (RMCD notice).
Digital services follow a different regime, in place since 1 January 2020. A foreign provider that registers with RMCD charges service tax itself and files its own DST-02 return through MySToDS (RMCD Guide on Digital Services). If such a provider has already charged you service tax, you don’t account for it again as an imported service (para 22 of the same guide).
Can I claim back service tax I pay on my purchases?
No. SST has no input-tax credit, unlike the old GST. Service tax you pay to suppliers is a cost to your business, and nothing in the Service Tax Act 2018 lets you offset it against the tax you charge. Factor it into your pricing.
How do I prepare SST-02 figures in IntBooks?
IntBooks prepares the figures; you file them on MySST yourself. IntBooks does not submit the return to RMCD, and RMCD offers no public filing API for SST-02.
- Go to Accounting → SST-02.
- Enter the start and end dates of your taxable period and click Generate Report.
- Review the output tax. It is broken down by tax type and rate, and compared with your SST-payable ledger account so you can spot postings that don’t match.
- Click Export CSV to keep a copy of the figures for your records.
- Log in to MySST, enter the figures in your SST-02 return, and pay by the due date.
The report does not calculate imported taxable services or bad-debt refund claims. Work those out separately and add them when you file.
How do I prepare for an SST audit?
- Keep records for seven years. This covers sales invoices, supplier invoices, credit notes and payment records (Service Tax Act 2018, s.24; MySST FAQ).
- Reconcile each return to your books. The taxable value and tax you declare should agree with your ledger for the period.
- Document how you classify services. Write down which service group each revenue line falls under, especially if you started a new service line after 1 July 2025.
- Track payment dates. Tax follows payment received, so an aged-receivables report helps you spot invoices approaching the 12-month point.
- Keep cross-border evidence. For services bought from or sold to parties outside Malaysia, keep contracts and invoices that show where the service was provided and consumed.
Can I file SST-02 myself or do I need an accountant?
Yes, you can file it yourself. Many small businesses do, once their invoices are classified correctly.
The hard part is the classification during the period, not the filing. You need to decide which service group each sale falls under and which rate applies, and to catch imported services. If your services straddle several groups, or you were brought into scope by the July 2025 expansion, get a tax adviser to check your first few returns.
How is SST different from GST?
GST was replaced by SST from 1 September 2018. The practical differences:
- Scope. Service tax applies only to listed taxable services, not to all supplies.
- No credits. There is no input-tax credit, so tax on your purchases is a cost.
- The return. SST-02 is the combined sales tax and service tax return, filed with RMCD on MySST.
Ready to prepare your SST-02 faster?
IntBooks is in closed beta. Request closed-beta access to see the SST-02 report on your own data.
Or read our LHDN MyInvois e-invoicing guide. E-invoicing is an LHDN (income tax) obligation and is separate from SST.
This article is general information, not tax advice. Rates, thresholds and scope change through budgets and gazette orders, so check the current position on MySST before you file.