Caj semasa itu berdasarkan kadar tarif.

Malay often leaves out the verb to be in sentences like this.

So:

• Caj semasa itu berdasarkan kadar tarif.

naturally means something like:

• The current charge is based on the tariff rate.

In more formal Malay, you might also see:

• Caj semasa itu adalah berdasarkan kadar tarif.

But in everyday and standard written Malay, leaving out adalah is very common.

Caj means charge, fee, or billing amount, depending on context.

It is a loanword from English charge, but it is fully normal in Malay, especially in:

• bills
• banking
• utilities
• official notices

A more general native-Malay alternative can be bayaran, but caj often sounds more specific to a fee or billed amount.

Here, semasa means current.

So:

• caj semasa = current charge

This is different from other uses of semasa, where it can also mean during or while, depending on context.

In this sentence, it is functioning as a modifier of caj, not as a time connector.

Probably no, not in this sentence.

A learner might think:

• semasa itu = at that time

because that phrase does exist in Malay. But here the structure is:

• caj semasa itu

where semasa is describing caj, and itu comes after the whole noun phrase.

So this is better understood as:

• that current charge or more naturally in English,
• the current charge

If Malay wanted to clearly mean at that time, the sentence structure would usually make that clearer, for example with something like pada masa itu or a different arrangement.

Itu literally means that, but in sentences like this it often works more like a definite marker, similar to the in English.

So:

• caj semasa itu

can mean:

• that current charge or simply
• the current charge

This is very common in Malay. The words ini and itu are placed after the noun phrase:

• rumah ini = this house
• rumah itu = that house

In Malay, modifiers like adjectives usually come after the noun.

So:

• caj semasa = current charge
• kadar tarif = tariff rate

This is the opposite of normal English word order, where modifiers usually come before the noun.

Compare:

• English: current charge
• Malay: caj semasa

Berdasarkan means based on.

It comes from the root dasar, which has the idea of a base, foundation, or basis.

So:

• berdasarkan kadar tarif = based on the tariff rate

It is a common formal word in official or written Malay.

You may also see similar expressions such as:

• berdasar
• mengikut
• berlandaskan

But berdasarkan is very standard and natural here.

They are related, but not exactly identical.

• kadar = rate
• tarif = tariff, pricing schedule, official fee scale

So kadar tarif means something like:

• tariff rate
• the rate set by the tariff schedule

This kind of pairing is common in formal Malay, especially in administrative, legal, and billing language.

Yes. It sounds fairly formal and administrative.

Words like:

• caj
• berdasarkan
• kadar tarif

are very common in:

• bills
• regulations
• company documents
• official notices

In casual speech, someone might use simpler wording depending on the situation.

Yes, in many contexts you could, but the nuance is slightly different.

• berdasarkan = based on
• mengikut = according to / following

So:

• Caj semasa itu berdasarkan kadar tarif.
• Caj semasa itu mengikut kadar tarif.

Both are understandable, but berdasarkan sounds a bit more formal and precise in official writing.

Yes. Grammatically, itu can still keep its demonstrative meaning that.

So depending on context, caj semasa itu could be:

• that current charge or
• the current charge

In many practical translations, English uses the because it sounds more natural. The exact choice depends on the wider context.