9th October 2026 - 3 min read
A new E-Commerce Bill will go to Parliament at its next meeting, to make online shopping platforms and sellers more accountable, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said when he tabled Budget 2027 in the Dewan Rakyat on 9 October.
Anwar also said the government is looking at new laws and enforcement to deal with foreign e-commerce companies that have entered the Malaysian market without proper supervision. The aim is to protect local small businesses from unfair competition and to make sure the goods you buy online are safe. None of this is law yet, so nothing changes when you shop online today.
Anwar said the E-Commerce Bill will make online platforms and sellers more accountable. He didn’t say which platforms it will cover, what the penalties will be, or when the new rules will start.
He also didn’t name any foreign e-commerce companies. He said the government takes the worries of small local traders about these companies seriously, and wants to protect small and medium enterprises (SMEs) from unfair competition.
Anwar didn’t announce any new tax on online purchases. The 10% sales tax on low-value goods, which applies to items of RM500 or less bought online from overseas, has been in place since 1 January 2024 and still applies.
That means a RM50 item shipped from overseas still comes with about RM5 in sales tax at checkout (our calculation). Budget 2027 doesn’t change this.
The government is putting RM142 million into the NADI platform, to help more young entrepreneurs sell online. Anwar mentioned a coffee seller in Kampung Sungai Leman, Selangor, who increased his sales by up to 80%, or RM240,000, after using NADI.
Another RM10 million will go to JOM MALAYSIA, which helps sellers in rural areas bring their products onto digital platforms and into overseas markets. Together, that’s RM152 million for local online sellers (our calculation).
The E-Commerce Bill still has to be tabled, debated, and passed before it takes effect. Until then, the protection you have when you buy from an online platform stays the same.
Check a seller’s ratings and reviews before you pay, and keep your order records and chat messages in case something goes wrong. Anwar also said the National Scam Response Centre is building an AI app to check suspicious phone numbers, bank accounts, and links before you make a payment.
As a creative content writer, Eloise has covered finance, business, lifestyle topics, and even moonlights as a singer-songwriter outside of RinggitPlus. Her current interests are learning the best ways to optimise spending and credit card hacks to gain more airline miles.
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