KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 27 — Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali today said the proposal to exclude water and electricity bills from the upcoming sales and service tax (SST) hike will be presented at the National Action Council on Cost of Living (Naccol) meeting next month.

He added that discussions regarding the SST increase had already taken place during the implementation monitoring committee meeting chaired by the deputy prime minister, which convened two weeks ago.

"There is indeed a special paper for us to see the effects and impacts.

"God willing, the matter mentioned by the Ayer Hitam MP we will bring it to study and we will bring it to the Naccol meeting on March 20 for further consideration,” he said during the Dewan Rakyat sitting.

Armizan was addressing a query made by Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong (BN-Ayer Hitam) suggesting that the government contemplate excluding water and electricity services from the proposed 2 per cent SST increase.

On February 22, The Star reported the MCA president as urging the government to exclude water and electricity from the upcoming 2 percentile pile increase in SST, just like for food and beverages (F&B), parking and telecommunications charges.

Wee said that including the utilities in the planned SST hike would increase the financial burden on consumers, leading to higher costs down the line.