Prime Minister and Finance Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, has announced that taxi and private hire car drivers will be entitled to 100% excise duty and sales tax exemptions for new Proton and Perodua models.
The announcement was made during the tabling of the 2026 national budget (Belanjawan 2026) at the Dewan Rakyat today and is intended to support and help boost the country’s tourism sector.
This policy follows a similar incentive introduced during the tabling of Budget 2023. That initiative focused on the sale, transfer, or disposal of individually-owned budget taxis and hired cars once the vehicles were over seven years old. However, a key difference is that the 2023 exemption did not explicitly state it was limited to models from Proton and Perodua.
Furthermore, the Prime Minister added that an allocation of RM10 million has been provided to HRD Corp to cover the training costs and allowances for contributing, licensed taxi drivers to undergo capacity-building and upskilling training.
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In related news, the government is introducing an incentive for owners of vehicles over 20 years old to switch to new national cars. A matching grant of up to RM4,000 will be provided to owners who scrap their vehicles and purchase a new national car as part of a joint initiative with the carmakers themselves.
This grant mechanism means the government will match the trade-in value offered by the manufacturer. For example, if Proton offers RM4,000 for the old vehicle, the government will contribute a matching grant of another RM4,000—giving the owner a total of RM8,000. This new collaborative programme aligns with the government’s goals of improving road safety and supporting Malaysia’s aim to become a carbon-neutral nation by 2050.
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