Dissatisfied with fee hike

The Star, Thursday March 13, 2014 

by oh ing yeen, vincent tan, AND edward rajendra

Inconvenient: Lim feels that while the hike is reasonable, he lamen ts the additional charge and the hassle of having to change his company’s name.

BUSINESS owners in Selangor affected by the hike in business licence fee found that it did not commensurate with the services provided.

Most traders and business associations met by StarMetro recently expressed their dissatisfaction over the lack of improvement in services although they had started paying the new fee.

The increase was between 20% and 180%.

There were also some who were happy with the improved services by their council, since the hike was implemented.

The increase is provided for under the Trade, Licence, Business and Industry By-Law 2007.

It was reported earlier that the increase was needed to pay for the councils’ services such as daily solid waste collection from commercial areas.

The businesses run by traders interviewed fell under the jurisdiction of the Kajang Municipal Council (MPKj), Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ), Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) and Klang Municipal Council (MPK).

MPKj

Soong Heng Hin, who owns a medicine hall in Batu 14, Kajang, said the current level of services by MPKj did not justify the increase in his licence fee that increased from RM100 to RM200.

“The drains outside my shop have been clogged for ages and nothing has been done.

“Just because the council had not increased the fee for 27 years, it is no excuse for the sudden drastic hike. Plus, no ample notice was given before the implementation,” he said.

C.Y. Lim, who owns a hardware and stationery business in Bandar Mahkota Cheras was surprised to discover that he was being charged separately for the businesses he ran, despite operating from just one shop.

“I can accept the RM50 increase for operating a hardware shop, but now I’m being charged a separate RM200 for also selling stationery.

“I had planned to stop selling stationery after I clear the stock, but I still have to pay because my company name bears the words ‘hardware and stationery’,” he said.

He hoped that for such special cases, MPKj officers could check his shop to verify that he was not selling stationery anymore instead of going through the hassle of changing his company name.

“It is troublesome to go to the Companies Commission of Malaysia to change my company name. I will also have to change my signboard, invoices and other documents,” he said.

Bandar Mahkota Cheras Business Association president Henry Chin said he had received many complaints about the sudden increase.

“In such trying times, when prices of petrol and goods have increased, the business licence hike is an extra burden.

“As we were not informed earlier, those who sent an employee with the exact amount of money for the fee had to make a second trip to the payment counter,” he said.

While he felt that the amount increased for his business (air condition and electrical services) was acceptable, others who faced a 100% increase were not so happy.

One such person was Ho Chou Fong, who owns a car workshop. The increase was from RM150 to RM400.

“Why the sudden increase and such a high rate?” he questioned.

When contacted, MPKj public relations head Kamarul Izlan Sulaiman said the council was currently busy with the Kajang by-election and could not comment.