When importing goods into Malaysia, you may be required to pay customs duty on them. In general, you will pay customs duty on the value of your goods, which is determined by the country you’re importing the goods from and the country you’re importing your goods into. You may be required to pay a specific tax rate on the value of your goods that differs depending on your place of residence.
That being said, there are some items that are exempt from paying customs duty or a specific tax rate. These exemptions vary depending on the item you are importing. You may also be exempt from paying customs duty if you are importing goods that are produced in Malaysia and are for your personal use.
What is Custom Duty?
Malaysia custom tax is a tax that you are required to pay when importing goods into a country. This can be tricky sometimes, as the customs duty varies depending on the country you’re importing from and the country you’re importing to. The rule of thumb is that if you’re importing goods, then you may have to pay customs duty on them.
Import Duty Exemptions
There are some items that are exempt from paying customs duty or a specific tax rate. These exemptions vary depending on the item you are importing.
You may be exempt from paying customs duty if you are importing goods that are produced in Malaysia and are for your personal use. You will also not pay customs duty or a specific tax rate if you’re importing goods into Malaysia as an export. If you’re importing goods for commercial purposes, then there is a different set of rules and regulations that apply to them.
If you import a vehicle, the value of the vehicle is what determines what duties and taxes need to be paid. As of 2018, imported cars with values up to RM20,000 do not need to pay any customs duties but cars with values above RM30,000 will be charged between 0% and 10%.
Customs duty scams
The most common scams people run on customs duty are:
- Requesting a bribe in order to lower the taxes you owe.
- Claiming that you want the imported goods for personal use in order to pay less customs duty.
- Telling you that you need to do an “inward processing declaration” before importing your goods into Malaysia, when this is not true.
These scams typically work because there is so much confusion around how customs duty works and it can be difficult to know where to go for help if something goes wrong. The scammer will take advantage of this confusion and fear by pressuring the person being scammed into paying more money or doing something they don’t understand.
If you believe you have been scammed, or are unsure about what a particular item or exemption means, please contact Malaysian Customs at 03-406 1234 or email [email protected]
How to find out if you’re required to pay customs duty
There are many ways to find out if you’re required to pay customs duty. One way is by going through the Malaysian Customs website. From there, you can find information on customs duty exemptions and also learn how to calculate your customs duty.
Another way of finding out if you’re required to pay customs duty is by contacting the Malaysia Customs office directly. They will be able to provide more detailed information about what you’ll need to do in order to import goods and whether or not you need to pay any taxes on them.
Customs duty may seem like a confusing and intimidating issue, but it doesn’t have to be. There are many resources you can use to find out how much you’ll owe, who you should pay and when.
Take a look at the table below for a list of common customs duty exemptions. You can find this and more information on the Malaysian Customs website.
