Customers worry Puspakom’s TIN policy may cause longer delays

MIRI (July 24): Customers here are worried that Puspakom’s recent announcement that they are required to produce their Tax Identification Number (TIN) for all transactions may cause further delays and longer queues.

Miri MP Chiew Choon Man when contacted said Puspakom customers, which include commercial vehicle operators, taxi, school buses and cars salesperson, are concerned that this may cause further delays which could impact their schedule in transporting goods, picking up passengers, as well as delivery of vehicles to new owners.

“They were only made aware of the news when we informed them. They are quite worried that there will be long queues at Puspakom by 8am because not many people are aware of the new procedures compared to the existing ones,” Chiew told The Borneo Post.

He said he would be sending his officers to monitor Puspakom Miri at KM12 Jalan Miri-Bintulu tomorrow to assess the situation.

On Monday, Puspakom had announced the new requirement, which would take effect from July 25, saying that it aligns with the Inland Revenue Board’s (IRB) implementation of the electronic invoicing (e-invoice) system.

Corporate customers must provide their TIN, company registration number, and Sales and Services Tax (SST) number, while individual customers need to provide their identity card number and TIN.

Chiew said Puspakom should give a longer notice period and inform stakeholders of the change in their policy.

“To avoid long queues and inconvenience, we urge Puspakom to take a more proactive approach to prepare for and remedy all kinds of situations that might occur tomorrow as a result of the new policy,” he said.

He said commercial vehicle operators had hoped that the authorities would reduce the twice yearly vehicle inspections at Puspakom to at least once a year.

To overcome the current congestion, Chiew also suggested that Puspakom lengthen its opening hours on Saturday to 8am to 5pm instead of closing at 1pm.