Alcohol import duty worth RM50.46m not collected by Customs - audit report

The National Audit Department today disclosed that import duty totalling RM50.46 million has not been collected by the Royal Malaysian Customs Department (RMCD) as they did not comply with the exemption approval set at 99.5 percent purity level.

The import duty involved 10 alcohol import transactions used as raw material for the production of rebaudioside A and NSF01 by a company for 2017 to 2019 (until July) with a trade value of RM3.14 million.

"Further review of Customs Form No 1 found that the product description that was declared was alcohol at purity level other than 99.5 percent and not undenatured ethyl, 99.5 percent purity level.

"Hence, the exemption given was invalid because the exemption approval is specifically for undenatured ethyl, 99.5 percent purity level description, causing non-collection of the import duty," said the department in the Auditor-General's Report 2019 Series 1 issued today.

The Audit Department has proposed for the RMCD to collect back immediately the import duty amounting to RM50.46 million which was not collected.

- Bernama