BANGI, Jan 7 — With the amendments to the Customs Act 1967 and Excise Act 1976 having come into force on January 2, sellers of contraband cigarettes and alcoholic drinks are staring at hefty punishment.
The minimum jail term is six months or a fine of RM100,000, if convicted.
Before, the punishment was a mere slap on the wrist, just a minimum jail term of a day and a minimum fine of RM1,000 or both,
Customs director-general Datuk Seri T. Subromaniam said the changes were necessary to curb smuggling and evasion of duty on these items.
He said two arrests were made today with the offenders brought to the Kota Baru Magistrate’s Court.
According to him, the offenders, both Pakistani nationals, were found to be in possession of contraband items worth RM152 with unpaid duty amounting to RM1,010.04.
He added that two other offenders had pleaded guilty and were slapped the RM100,000 fine or 12 months jail in default.
“We expect that this month alone, about 50 cases will be brought to court over illicit cigarettes and liquor.
“With the stiffer punishment in place, I believe JKDM will bring in more revenue as announced in Budget 2019 where the department has been asked to make an additional collection of RM1 billion from the sale of cigarettes,” he said.
He warned would-be offenders that it did not matter whether they sold “one pack of illicit cigarettes or a carton”.
“It is impossible to sell a pack of cigarettes at RM5 because the excise duty and sales and service tax total about RM10,” he added. — Bernama
