Excise Duty
Short Writeup
This is a form of duty payable by manufacturers and importers of certain goods called “dutiable goods”. The most well known of these goods such as cigarettes, intoxicating liquor and motor vehicles. The list of dutiable goods would vary from time to time just as the rate of duty payable on them. Manufacturers of dutiable goods must be licensed and the goods must be stored in specific places, at which they may be inspected by officers from the department.
Departments & Agencies
The Royal Customs and Excise Department
Statutes & Regulations
Excise Act 1976
Toddy Regulations
(1) The Minister may make regulations for any or all of the following matters -
(a) the establishment and operation of toddy shops and the sale of toddy by retail for consumption on such premises;
(b) the regulation of prices at which toddy shall be sold by retail in toddy shops;
(c) the issue of toddy shop licenses and the terms and conditions to be imposed on such licenses;
(d) regulation and control of bottling or canning of toddy; and
(e) for such other matters in respect of which regulations may be made under this Part.
(2) The power to make regulations under this section shall be without prejudice to the power of the Minister to make regulations under Section 85. [Section 39].
(3) Penalties
Any regulations made under Section 39 may provide for persons guilty of any offence there under to be liable on conviction to a fine or a term of imprisonment or both, but may not provide for any such fine to exceed RM2,000 or any such term of imprisonment to exceed 6 months. [Section 40].
Power of Investigation
A proper officer shall have all the powers necessary to carry out an inspection and to investigate the commission of any offence under this Act. [Section 50A].
Procedure where investigation cannot be completed within 24 hours.
(Detention for up to 15 days).
(1) Whenever any person is arrested and detained in custody and it appears that the investigation cannot be completed within a period of twenty-four hours and there are grounds for believing that the accusation or information is well founded, the senior officer of excise making the investigate under this Act shall immediately transmit such case to the Magistrate a copy of the entries in the diary prescribed under section 56D relating to the case and shall at the same time produce such person before the Magistrate.
(2) The Magistrate before whom a person is produced under this section may, whether he has or has no jurisdiction to try the case, from time to time, authorize the detention of such person in such custody as the Magistrate considers fit for a term not exceeding 15 days in the whole.
(3) If the Magistrate has no jurisdiction to try the case and considers further detention unnecessary, he may order such person to be produced before a Magistrate having such jurisdiction or, if the case is trial able only by the High Court, before himself or another Magistrate having jurisdiction with a view to transmitting the case for trial by the High Court.
(4) A Magistrate authorizing detention under this Section shall record his reasons for so doing (Section 56C).
Powers of Arrest
(1) Any officer of excise may arrest without warrant -
(a) any person found committing or attempting to commit, or employing or aiding any person to commit, or abetting the commission of, an offence against this Act or any regulations made thereunder;
(b) any person whom he may reasonably suspect to have in his possession any goods liable to seizure under this Act, and
(c) any person against whom a reasonable suspicion exists that he has been guilty of an offence against this Act or any regulations made thereunder; and may search or cause to be searched any person so arrested; Provided that no female shall be searched except by another female with strict regard to decency;
(2) Every person so arrested shall be taken to a police station or may be detained in the custody of the proper officer.
(3) If any person liable to arrest under this Act is not arrested at the time of committing the offence for which he is so liable, or after arrest makes his escape he may at any time thereafter be arrested and dealt with as if he had been arrested at the time of committing such offence.
(4) Every person so arrested may be released from custody -
(a) on his depositing such reasonable sum of money as the proper officer of excise may require and his executing a bond, with such surety or sureties, as the proper officer of excise may require.
(b) on being notified in writing by the surety of such person that such person is likely to breach any condition on or subjects to which such person was released and that the surety wishes to be relieved of his obligation as surety. [Section 56].
Effects of non-Compliance
Penalty on making incorrect declarations and on falsifying documents.
(1) Whoever -
(a) makes, orally or in writing, or signs any declaration, certificate or other document required by this Act which is untrue or incorrect in any particular;
(b) makes, orally in writing, or signs any declaration or document, made for consideration of any officer of customs on any application presented to him, which is untrue or incorrect in any particular;
(c) counterfeits or falsifies, or uses, when counterfeited or falsified, any document which is or may be required under this Act or any document used in the transaction of any business or matter relating to excise;
(d) fraudulently alters any document, or counterfeits the seal, signature, initials or other mark of, or used by, any officer of customs for the verification of any such document or for the security of any goods or any other purpose in the conduct of business relating to excise;
(e) being required by this Act to make a declaration of dutiable goods imported or exported, fails to make such declaration as required;
(f) fails or refuses to produce to a proper officer of customs any document required to be produced under 41(3); or
Shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding RM500,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or to both. [Section 71].
Penalty on refusing to answer questions or on giving false information.
(1) Whoever, being required by this Act to give any information which may reasonably be required by a proper officer of customs and that is in his power to give, or to produce to such officer documents that is within his power to produce, refuses to give such information or furnishes as true information which he knows or has reason to believe to be false, or refuses to produce such documents shall, on conviction, be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to a fine not exceeding two thousand ringgit or both the imprisonment and fine.
(2) When any such information is proved to be untrue or incorrect in whole or in part it shall be no defense to allege that such information or any part thereof was furnished inadvertently or without criminal or fraudulent intent, or was misinterpreted or not fully interpreted by an interpreter provided by the informant. [Section 73].
Penalty on evasion of excise duty and on illegal manufacture of dutiable goods.
(1) Whoever -
(a) shall contrary to the provisions of this Act receive into or have in his possession, custody or control any goods on which the excise duty levy able by law shall not be proved to have been paid or which have been illegally distilled, fermented or otherwise manufactured or imported; or
(b) assists or is otherwise concerned in the illegal removal or withdrawal of any dutiable goods from any distillery, brewery or other place of manufacture of dutiable goods or from any licensed warehouse or excise control or place of security in which dutiable goods may have been deposited; or
(c) knowingly harbours, keeps, conceals, or is in possession of, or permits, suffers, causes or procures to be harboured, kept or concealed, any dutiable goods which have been illegally removed or;
(d) is in any way of knowingly concerned in conveying, removing, depositing or dealing with any dutiable with intent to defraud the Government of any duties thereon, or to evade any of the provisions of this Act; or
(e) is in any way knowingly concerned in any fraudulent evasion or attempt at fraudulent evasion of any excise duty; or
(f) is in any way knowingly concerned in distilling, fermenting or otherwise manufacturing any dutiable goods, or manufacturing any tobacco, in contravention of the provisions of section 20; or
(g) except by lawful authority, opens, breaks, alters or in any way interferes with any lock, seal, mark, or other fastening placed by a proper officer; or
(i) is concerned in importing any in-excisable goods contrary to whether such in-excisable goods be shipped, unshipped, delivered or not;
(j) ships, unships, delivers or assists or is concerned in the shipping, unshipping or delivery of any in-excisable goods or;
(k) being a passenger or other person is found to have in his baggage or upon his person or otherwise in his possession, after having denied that he has any dutiable in his baggage or upon his person or otherwise in his possession, any dutiable goods.
(l) in the case of locally manufactured goods -
(A) for the first offence, to a fine of not less than 10 times the amount of the duty or ten thousand ringgit, whichever is the lesser, and of not more than 20 times the amount of the duty or RM10,000 whichever is the greater;
Provided that when no duty is involved or the amount of duty cannot be ascertained, the penalty may amount to a fine not exceeding RM10,000; and
(B) for the second or subsequent offence, to a fine of not less than 20 times the amount of the duty or ten thousand ringgit, whichever is the lesser, and of not more than 40 times the amount of the duty or RM20,000 whichever is the greater, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years, or to both;
Provided that when no duty is involved or the amount of duty cannot be ascertained, the penalty may amount to a fine not exceeding RM20,000; or
(ii) in the case of imported goods –
(A) for the first offence, to a fine of not less than 10 times the amount of the excise duty or RM50,000, whichever is lesser, and of not more than 20 times the amount of the excise duty or RM100,000 whichever is the greater, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or to both; and
(B) for the second or subsequent offence, to a fine of not less than 10 times the amount of the excise duty or RM100,000, whichever is the lesser, and of not more than 40 times the amount of the excise duty or RM500,000, whichever is the greater, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or to both;
Provided that where the amount of the excise duty cannot be ascertained, the penalty may amount to a fine not exceeding RM500,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or to both.
(2) In any prosecution under this section any dutiable goods shall be deemed to be dutiable goods to be the knowledge of the defendant unless the contrary be proved by such defendant. [Section 74].
Penalty for offences not otherwise provided for –
Every omission or neglect to comply with and every act done or attempted to be done contrary to this Act or any regulations made thereunder, or any breach of the conditions and restrictions subject to, or upon which, any license or permit is issued or any exemption is granted under this Act, shall be an offence against this Act and in respect of any such offence for which no penalty is expressly provided the offender shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding RM20,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or to both. [Section 79].
Licenses & Permits
License for Intoxicating Liquors
(1) The Licensing Board for any area shall have authority in its discretion to issue or transfer licenses within such area as follows:-
(a) public house licenses – for the sale by retail of intoxicating liquors, excluding toddy, for consumption on the premises or at the place where they are sold;
(b) beer house licenses – for the sale by retail of beer for consumption on the premises or at the place where it is sold; provided that the holders of public house licenses are exempted from beer house licenses;
(c) retail shop licenses – for the sale by retail of intoxicating liquors, excluding toddy, for consumption elsewhere than on the premises or at the place where they are sold;
(d) wholesale dealer’s licenses – for the sale by whole-sale of intoxicating liquors, excluding toddy.
(2) The Licensing Board may, in its discretion, subject the issue or transfer of any license under this section to such restrictions or conditions which are not otherwise inconsistent with the provisions of this Act or any regulations made there under as it may deem fit to impose, to be endorsed on the license.
(3) The Licensing Board may, in its discretion, refuse to issue or transfer any license under this Part, and suspend or cancel such license at any time; and the Licensing Board shall not be compelled to assign any reasons for any decision to refuse the issue or transfer of or to suspend or cancel any license.
(4) The holder of a license issued under this Part shall not be entitled to any compensation for the suspension or cancellation of his license under subsection (3), or to refund of any fee paid in respect of such license.
(5) In the case of death, mental disorder, illness or bankruptcy of any person licensed under this Part, the Licensing Board may, be endorsement on the license, authorize any other person to exercise the rights conferred by the license until the expiration of the term for which it was originally granted, or any shorter period, subject to all the conditions originally imposed by such license and to such further conditions as the Licensing Board may deem fit to impose.
(6) The Licensing Board may, in its discretion, require as a condition of the issue of any license that the applicant shall enter into recognition with sureties in the prescribed form.
(7) Any person aggrieved by the decision of the Licensing Board may within 30 days of notification of the decision, appeal to the Minister whose decision shall be final.
Penalty for sale of liquor without license.
Any person who shall sell intoxicating liquors, otherwise than in accordance with a license issued under subsection 35(1) shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding RM5,000. [Section 76].
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