Materang (left) presents a contribution to a recipient as (from second left) Len, Anthony and Fatimah look on.
SARIKEI: Smuggling of cigarettes and liquor into the country has caused the government a big loss in revenue. According to Malaysian Royal Customs Department deputy director-general (Enforcement and Compliance) Datuk Matrang Suhaili, based on a study conducted last year, 36.9 per cent of cigarettes in Malaysian markets were contraband – 3.2 per cent more than the previous year.
This translated to about RM4 billion in losses to the country’s revenue, he said during the department’s state-level Community Service programme at Kampong Seberang here yesterday. As for liquor, he said loss in revenue due to smuggling activities was around RM500 million in 2015. Despite facing the challenges posed by smuggling activities, the department managed to collect liquor tax and duty last year, he disclosed.
Of the amount, RM3.66 billion representing 5.80 per cent of customs tax and duty collections was from cigarette duty, he said, adding duty on cigarettes was the second highest contributor of revenue after vehicles tax and duty. Revenue collected from liquor in 2015 amounted to RM1.97 million or 3.19 per cent of duty collection, an increase of 14.25 per cent over the amount collected the previous year, he said.
Concerned with the huge loss through tax evasion, he said Customs would beef up its enforcement to check smuggling activities which were rampant along the Malaysian-Thai border; Johor-Singapore border; free ports of Pulau Pinang, Labuan and Langkawi and other places throughout the country. He said Sarawak was among the states which recorded the highest number of smuggling cases involving cigarettes and liquor.
Last year, Sarawak recorded 165 cases of cigarette smuggling in which 22.84 million sticks of cigarettes worth RM2.46 million and RM15.2 million in duty were seized. Also in 2015, the state recorded 240 liquor smuggling cases, whereby 578,000 litres of contraband beer worth RM1.22 million and RM4.70 million in tax/duty were seized, he added. As of April this year, the state recorded 73 cases of cigarette and 92 liquor smuggling cases, he further disclosed. He therefore called on members of the public to play their part in helping Customs to combat smuggling activities by providing information to them.
The programme was officially launched by Assistant Minister for Workforce Development and Training Datu Len Talif Salleh. Among those present were state Customs director Daayang Fatimah Johari, Sarikei Resident Dr Anthony Valentine Laiseh, heads of various departments and community leaders.