KUCHING, Aug 7 — The Royal Customs Department is targeting a tax collection of RM900 million in Sarawak this year under the Customs Information System (SMK) which has been enforced for the past 20 years, said its Director-General, Datuk Seri Khazali Ahmad, here today.  So far, he said, about RM560 million in taxes had been collected in the state under the SMK which would be replaced by the ‘uCustoms’ system beginning Jan 1, 2016 to meet the latest requirement and increase in terms of trade information needed for taxation.

“In line with the current developments, this system (SMK) is no longer able to handle the increasing information,” he said at a media conference after launching the uCustoms Awareness Campaign at the state level by the State Secretary, Tan Sri Mohamad Morshidi Abdul Ghani, here.  Khazali said the uCustoms system was now 40 per cent ready and when fully operational, it was expected to be able to reduce information leakage and would make it easier for the trading community to pay their taxes.  He said that when ready, the system would enable all customs tax transactions to be carried out through borderless smart devices. — Bernama