The Malaysian government began implementation of tax on sugar-sweetened beverages from July 1 onwards to cut down the country’s high levels of obesity.

Illustrative image (Source: internet)

In a statement, the Malaysian Customs Department said the excise duty is imposed on sweetened beverages at 0.40 ringgit (about 0.1 USD) per litre on two categories of ready-to-drink packaged sweetened drinks.

Licensed importers of sweetened beverages were required to produce a letter of undertaking and submit laboratory reports to ensure the total sugar content of their drinks did not exceed the threshold allowed.

Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng had announced the tax last year, which will be applied on beverages that contained sugar exceeding five grams per 100 millilitres.

Malaysia is considered the fattest country in Asia with 30 percent of Malaysians were overweight and 17.7 percent obese.

(Source: VNA)