DEPARTURE LEVY ACT 2019

LAWS OF MALAYSIA ONLINE VERSION OF UPDATED TEXT OF REPRINT Act 813 DEPARTURE LEVY ACT 2019 As at 30 December 2023 This text is ONLY AN UPDATED TEXT of the Departure Levy Act 2019 by the Attorney General’s Chambers. Unless and until reprinted pursuant to the powers of the Commissioner of Law Revision under subsection 14(1) of the Revision of Laws Act 1968 [Act 1], this text is NOT AN AUTHENTIC TEXT. 2 DEPARTURE LEVY ACT 2019 … … … ... 3 July 2019 Date of publication in the Gazette … … … … 17 July 2019 Date of Royal Assent Latest amendment made by Act 851 which came into operation on … … … … 30 December 2023 3 LAWS OF MALAYSIA Act 813 DEPARTURE LEVY ACT 2019 ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS PART I PRELIMINARY Section 1. Short title and commencement 2. Territorial and extra-territorial application 3. Interpretation PART II ADMINISTRATION 4. Functions and powers of Director General and other officers 5. Persons appointed or employed to be public servants 6. Recognition of office 7. Confidentiality of information 8. Director Genaral may transmit, etc., document, etc. PART III IMPOSITION AND SCOPE OF DEPARTURE LEVY 9. Imposition of departure levy 10. Departure levy due 11. Rate of departure levy 12. Refund of departure levy 13. Liability to be registered 4 Laws of Malaysia ACT 813 PART IV REGISTRATION Section 14. Duty to appoint an agent 15. Registration of operator or agent of foreign operator 16. Notification of cessation of liability and cancellation of registration PART V RECORDS, RETURNS, ASSESSMENT AND RECOVERY 17. Duty to keep records 18. Copy of record admissible in evidence 19. Furnishing of returns 20. Payment of departure levy 21. Period for institution of prosecution for non-payment of departure levy 22. Power to assess 23. Assessment of departure levy at amount greater than appropriate 24. Asssessment to make good loss of departure levy attributable to fraud, etc. 25. Registered person to pay departure levy and penalty upon notified 26. Director General may alter assessment, etc., to ensure correctness 27. Power to collect departure levy, etc., from person owing money to registered person 28. Recovery of departure levy, etc., erroneously refunded 29. Recovery of departure levy, etc., as civil debt 30. Liability of directors, etc. PART VI EXEMPTION, REMISSION AND REFUND 31. Power of Minister to exempt and refund 32. Remission Departure Levy 5 Section 33. Refund of departure levy overpaid or erroneously paid, etc. 34. Refund upon satisfaction of Director General and with supporting evidence PART VII ENFORCEMENT 35. Powers of enforcement, inspection and investigation PART VIII OFFENCES 36. Obstruction 37. Incorrect return and short paid 38. Evasion of departure levy, fraud 39. Refusing to answer question or giving false information 40. Attempts and abetments 41. General penalty 42. Offences by company, etc. 43. Liability of person for act, etc., of employee, etc. 44. Departure levy, etc., to be payable notwithstanding any proceedings, etc. PART IX TRIALS AND PROCEEDINGS 45. Prosecution 46. Jurisdiction to try offences 47. Evidential provisions 48. Evidentiary value of copies of electronic notice 49. Imprisonment for non-payment of fine 50. No costs or damages arising from seizure to be recoverable unless seizure without reasonable or probable cause 6 Laws of Malaysia ACT 813 Section 51. Compounding of offences 52. Court order 53. Obligation of secrecy 54. Protection of informers from discovery PART X MISCELLANEOUS 55. Service of notices, etc. 56. Use of electronic service 57. Authentication of notices, etc. 58. Transaction of business on behalf of registered person 59. Application for review 60. Liquidator of registered person to give notice of winding up, and set aside departure levy 61. Appointment of receiver to be notified to the Director General 62. Power to make regulations 62A. Power to extend period 62B. Power to modify terms and conditions PART XI TRANSITIONAL 63. Registration before effective date 64. Payment before effective date 7 LAWS OF MALAYSIA Act 813 DEPARTURE LEVY ACT 2019 An Act to provide for the imposition of a departure levy on persons leaving Malaysia and for matters connected therewith. [Part I, Part II, Part IV, section 17, section 18, section 31, Part VII, Part VIII except for section 37, Part IX, Part X and Part XI⸺ 1 August 2019; Part III, Part V except for sections 17 and 18, Part VI except for section 31 and section 37⸺ 1 September 2019, P.U. (B) 373/2019] ENACTED by the Parliament of Malaysia as follows: PART I PRELIMINARY Short title and commencement 1. (1) This Act may be cited as the Departure Levy Act 2019. (2) This Act come into operation on a date to be appointed by the Minister by notification in the Gazette and the Minister may appoint different dates for the coming into operation of different parts or different provisions of this Act. (3) Notwithstanding subsection (2), the Minister may by notification in the Gazette, appoint the effective date for the charging and levying of departure levy under this Act. 8 Laws of Malaysia ACT 813 Territorial and extra-territorial application 2. (1) This Act shall apply both within and outside Malaysia. (2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), this Act shall apply to any person whatever his nationality or citizenship, beyond the geographical limits of Malaysia and its territorial waters, if the person is a foreign operator under this Act. Interpretation 3. (1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires— “prescribed” means prescribed by the Minister in the regulations made under this Act; “document” has the meaning assigned to it under section 3 of the Evidence Act 1950 [Act 56]; “electronic” has the meaning assigned to it under section 5 of the Electronic Government Activities Act 2007 [Act 680]; “Director General” means the Director General of Customs and Excise, appointed under subsection 3(1) of the Customs Act 1967 [Act 235]; “computer” has the meaning assigned to it under section 3 of the Evidence Act 1950; “departure levy” means a levy payable under this Act; “Minister” means the Minister charged with the responsibility for finance; “person” includes an individual, a company, limited liability partnership, firm, society and every other juridical person; Departure Levy 9 “registered person” means any operator or agent of foreign operator registered under section 15; “officer of customs” means any officer of customs as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Customs Act 1967 and includes any person appointed and employed under subsection 4(4); “senior officer of customs” means any officer of customs as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Customs Act 1967; “operator” means any person who operates any vehicle to carry any person leaving Malaysia and “foreign operator” means any person, who operates any vehicle to carry any person leaving Malaysia, but who has no business or place of business in Malaysia; “effective date” means the date appointed under subsection 1(3). PART II ADMINISTRATION Functions and powers of Director General and other officers 4. (1) The Director General shall have the superintendence of all matters relating to the departure levy, subject to the direction and control of the Minister. (2) Subject to the general direction and supervision of the Director General, a senior officer of customs shall have and exercise all powers conferred on the Director General by or under this Act. (3) Any officer of customs shall have the duties and powers to enforce and ensure due compliance with the provisions of this Act. (4) Any person, other than an officer of customs may be appointed by, or employed with the concurrence of, the Director General for any duty or service relating to departure levy and such person shall be deemed to be an officer of customs for that duty or service. 10 Laws of Malaysia ACT 813 (5) The Director General may, by authorization in writing, confer on any person appointed or employed under subsection (4), all or any of the powers of a senior officer of customs by or under this Act, for a period not exceeding ninety days in respect of any one authorization. Persons appointed or employed to be public servants 5. Every person appointed or employed under subsection 4(4) for any duty or service relating to departure levy shall be deemed to be a public servant within the meaning of the Penal Code [Act 574]. Recognition of office 6. (1) Every officer of customs when discharging his duties shall, on demand made by any person, declare his office and produce to the person the authority card or badge prescribed under section 8A of the Customs Act 1967 or in the case of any officer of customs appointed under subsection 4(4), any other authority card as may be approved by the Director General. (2) It shall not be an offence for any person to refuse to comply with any request, demand or order made by any officer of customs acting or purporting to act under this Act if such officer refuses to declare his office and produce his authority card or badge on demand being made by the person. (3) Any person, not being an officer of customs, who unlawfully wears, uses, possesses or displays, otherwise than in the course of a stage play or other theatrical performance— (a) any uniform prescribed under section 8A of the Customs Act 1967 or any dress having the appearance of, or bearing the distinctive marks of, such uniform; or Departure Levy 11 (b) any prescribed authority card or badge, or authority card as approved by the Director General, referred to in subsection (1), commits an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding fifty thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or to both. Confidentiality of information 7. (1) Every person, having any official duty or being appointed or employed under this Act, shall regard and deal with all documents, information, returns or declarations relating to the business or value of the provision of services by any registered person as confidential. (2) Subject to subsection 8(1), every person having possession or control over any document, information, return or declaration or copies of such document, information, return or declaration, in relation to the business or the value of the departure levy by any person, who at any time, otherwise than for the purposes of this Act or with the express authority of the Director General— (a) communicates or attempts to communicate the information or anything contained in the document, return or declaration or copies of such document, return or declaration to any person; or (b) suffers or permits any person to have access to any information or to anything contained in the document, return or declaration or copies of such document, return or declaration, commits an offence. (3) No person having any official duty or being appointed or employed under this Act or who is referred to in subsection 8(1) shall be required to produce in any matters or proceedings in any court or tribunal any document, information, return or declaration or to divulge or communicate in the matters or proceedings of any matter or thing, coming under his notice in the performance of his duties under this 12 Laws of Malaysia ACT 813 Act, except as may be necessary for the purposes of carrying into effect the provisions of this Act or in order to institute a prosecution or in the course of a prosecution for any offence committed under this Act. Director General may transmit, etc., document, etc. 8. (1) The Director General may, as he deems fit, transmit or communicate any document, information, return or declaration referred to in subsection 7(1) or anything contained in such document, information, return or declaration to the Chief Statistician of the Department of Statistics Malaysia which may be requ