Over in Labuan, the customs department revealed that it seized 55 vehicles worth RM7.12 million, including taxes, following a series of enforcement operations held in Sabah and Sarawak from January to December 29 this year, Bernama reports.
According to Labuan customs director Aspaila Ag Tuah, the operations targeted vehicle owners who violated conditions under Item 14 of the Customs Duties (Exemption) Order 2017. She said that under Item 14 of the order, vehicles purchased in duty-free islands such as Langkawi and Labuan can be brought into the Principal Customs Area (not duty-free islands) for up to 90 days in a calendar year.
As you’d expect, abuse of this is what led to the action being taken. “Investigations found that these vehicles were brought into the Principal Customs Area using the exemption facilities, but were not returned to the duty-free islands after the allowed period,” she said, adding that all the seized vehicles, which included models such as the Toyota Alphard and Vellfire, Audi Q7 and Mini Cooper as well as various BMW and Mercedes-Benz models, were being investigated under Section 135(1)(d) of the Customs Act 1967.
Upmarket vehicles weren’t the only ones on the seized list, with Toyota models such as the Fortuner, Vios, Avanza and Unser as well as cars such as the Nissan Sentra, Mitsubishi ASX as well as Peroduas on it, proving that gaming the system and avoiding excise duties isn’t just limited to supercars.
From January 1 next year, the game gets even more interesting, at least for vehicles priced up the chain, as the government has announced a move to prevent high-net-worth individuals from abusing Langkawi and Labuan’s tax-free status to purchase luxury cars at lower prices, with a ceiling price of RM300,000 for tax exemptions for vehicles purchased in the duty-free islands.
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picture shows a few old junk conti cars which are fit only for scrap