ENTERTAINMENTS DUTY ACT 1953

LAWS OF MALAYSIA ONLINE VERSION OF UPDATED TEXT OF REPRINT Act 103 ENTERTAINMENTS DUTY ACT 1953 As at 30 December 2023 This text is ONLY AN UPDATED TEXT of the Entertainments Duty Act 1953 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 ENTERTAINMENTS DUTY ACT 1953 First enacted … … … … … … … … … … 1953 (Ordinance No. 25 of 1953) Revised … … … … … … … … … … … 1973 (Act 103 w.e.f. 1 April 1973) Latest amendment made by Act 851 which came into operation on … … … …… … … 30 December 2023 PREVIOUS REPRINTS First Reprint … … … … 1994 Second Reprint … … … … 2000 Third Reprint … … … … 2006 3 LAWS OF MALAYSIA Act 103 ENTERTAINMENTS DUTY ACT 1953 ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS Section 1. Short title 2. Interpretation 3. Collector of Entertainments Duty 4. Duties 5. Collector 6. Payment of duty, how made 7. Duty chargeable in respect of each person 8. Recovery of duties 9. Duty on subscription and season tickets 10. Exemption from duty for charities, etc. 11. Repayments 12. Exemption 13. Powers of entry and investigation 14. Search 15. Powers of arrest 16. Powers of seizure 17. Jurisdiction of Sessions and Magistrates' Courts 18. Collector may compound offences 19. Protection of informers from discovery 20. Penalties 21. Action of officers no offence 4 Laws of Malaysia Seksyen 22. Liability of proprietor for acts of servant 23. Regulations ACT 103 5 LAWS OF MALAYSIA Act 103 ENTERTAINMENTS DUTY ACT 1953 An Act to impose a duty in respect of admission to entertainments. [Peninsular Malaysia- 1 October 1953, L.N. 514/1953; Sabah and Sarawak-1 April 1973, P.U. (A) 42/1973] Short title 1. This Act may be cited as the Entertainments Duty Act 1953. Interpretation 2. (1) In this Act— “admission” means admission as (a) a spectator; (b) one of an audience; or (c) a user of an entertainment facility; “admission to an entertainment” includes admission to any place in which an entertainment is held or any other place from which a person would be able to be a spectator or one of the audience of an entertainment, and also includes being given the right to use an entertainment facility; “collector” includes a deputy to the collector; 6 Laws of Malaysia ACT 103 “entertainment” includes any exhibition, performance, amusement, game or sport, or any other activity as may be declared to be entertainment by the Minister of Finance under subsection (2), to which persons are admitted for payment; “expenses of the entertainment” includes expenses of all kinds incurred in connection with the entertainment or its side-shows; “payment for admission” includes any payment made by a person who having been admitted to one part of a place of entertainment is subsequently admitted to another part thereof for admission to which a payment or a further payment involving duty is required and includes any payment which gives a person a right to be admitted whether such right is or is not exercised; “proprietor” in relation to any entertainment includes any person responsible for the management thereof and, in relation to any place from which in the opinion of the Collector a person would be able to be a spectator or one of the audience of an entertainment in progress in some other place, includes the owner, tenant or person in possession or control of the place, or any other person who receives payment for admission to the place; “takings of the entertainment” includes not only all money taken for admission but also all takings from any source whatever in connection with the entertainment. (2) The Minister of Finance may, from time to time, by order published in the Gazette, declare any activity to which a person is admitted for payment to be an entertainment. Collector of Entertainments Duty 3. (1) The Minister of Finance shall be the Collector of Entertainments Duty (in this Act referred to as the Collector) and shall be responsible for collecting the duties prescribed by section 4 and generally for carrying out the provisions of this Act. Entertainments Duty 7 (2) The Minister of Finance may appoint a deputy or deputies to the Collector either generally for the purposes of this Act or of any regulations made thereunder or for the purposes of particular provisions of the Act or for the purposes of particular regulations made under this Act. Duties 4. (1) Subject to this section there shall be charged, levied and paid to the Collector upon every payment for admission to any entertainment a duty (in this Act referred to as entertainments duty) at such rate as may be imposed by resolution of the Dewan Rakyat from time to time. (2) Entertainments duty at the rate of one-half of the rate prescribed in accordance with subsection (1) shall be charged, levied and paid to the Collector upon every payment for admission to any entertainment in which all the performers whose words or actions constitute the entertainment are actually present and performing and the entertainment consists solely of one or more of the following items, namely, a stage play, a ballet (whether a stage play or not), a performance of music (whether vocal or instrumental), a lecture, a recitation, a music hall or other variety entertainment, a circus, a travelling show or a menagerie or any game of sport other than racing or trial of speed of animals, vehicles, motor vessels or aircraft. (3) (a) No entertainments duty shall be charged, levied or paid upon any payment for admission to any entertainment which consists of one or more of the following items: (i) a stage play; (ii) a ballet or traditional forms of dancing (whether a stage play or not); (iii) a performance of music (whether vocal or instrumental); (iv) a lecture; or (v) a recitation, 8 Laws of Malaysia ACT 103 where the Collector is satisfied that the entertainment is provided by a society, institution or committee which is not conducted or established for profit or that the entertainment is an amateur one. (b) For the purposes of this section an entertainment shall not be deemed to be an amateur one if any payment is made or reward given for the appearance of any of the performers whose words or actions constitute the entertainment or any part of it, or for any person's services in connection with the entertainment as instructor, producer, manager or conductor or in any advisory capacity. (4) The Collector may in his discretion accept in respect of any entertainment a lump sum by way of composition for and in lieu of entertainments duty in any case where by reason of the smallness of the sum likely to be payable, or of difficulty in computing the sum, he deems it expedient to do so. Collector 5. (1) If the Collector is of opinion— (a) that any payment other than or in addition to any payment on admission (upon which duty is payable under this Act) has been required or accepted by the proprietor of any entertainment from any person; (b) that the amount of any such payment is in excess of that which would ordinarily have been paid for any thing, privilege, right or purpose other than the enjoyment of the entertainment obtained in return for the payment; and (c) that any such payment was in effect in whole or in part a payment or reward for the right or opportunity of any person to enjoy the entertainment, he may give notice in writing to the proprietor of the entertainment of his finding and thereupon any such payment or such proportion thereof as is mentioned in the notice shall be deemed to be for the purposes of this Act payment for admission to the entertainment and entertainments Entertainments Duty 9 duty shall be charged, levied and paid thereon either in accordance with subsection 4(4) or otherwise as the Collector may by that notice require. (2) Any person aggrieved by any finding of the Collector under subsection (1) may, within twenty-eight days from the date of the giving to him by the Collector of written notice of the finding, appeal on any question of law or fact to a Sessions Court or, in Sabah and Sarawak to the Court of a Magistrate of the First Class. (3) There shall be such further right of appeal from a Sessions Court under this section as exists in the case of decisions made by such Court in the exercise of its original civil jurisdiction. (4) There shall be no further right of appeal from a decision of the High Court on appeal under this section. (5) For the purpose of this section it shall be presumed until the contrary is proved by the proprietor of the entertainment that where any payment has been required or accepted by the proprietor from any person and the payment is in excess of that which would ordinarily have been paid for any thing, privilege, right or purpose other than the enjoyment of the entertainment obtained in return for that payment, then the payment or such part thereof as is so in excess was a payment or reward for the right or opportunity of a person to enjoy the entertainment. (6) The Subordinate Courts Rules Committee may make rules regulating and prescribing the procedure in proceedings by way of appeal under subsection (2) including the manner in which evidence shall be taken on the appeal and providing for the costs of those proceedings. Payment of duty, how made 6. (1) Entertainments duty shall be levied, paid and collected by such method, whether by way of a stamp upon or affixed to any ticket of admission denoting that the proper entertainments duty has been 10 Laws of Malaysia ACT 103 paid or otherwise, as may be prescribed by regulations made under this Act. (2) Unless otherwise provided, if any person is admitted on payment to an entertainment and the provisions of this Act are not complied with, the proprietor of the entertainment to which he is admitted shall be guilty of an offence under this Act. Duty chargeable in respect of each person 7. Except as provided in section 9, entertainments duty shall be chargeable in respect of each person admitted for payment and, in the case of admission by stamped ticket, shall be paid by means of the stamp on the ticket; in the case of admission otherwise than by a stamped ticket, it shall, unless the Collector in the exercise of the powers conferred by subsection 4(4) directs otherwise, be calculated and paid on the number of admissions. Recovery of duties 8. Entertainments duty, in the case of admission otherwise than by stamped ticket, shall be recoverable from the proprietor as a debt due to the Government by any of the ways and means in force for the time being for the recovery of debts due to the Government. Duty on subscription and season tickets 9. (1) Where the payment for admission to an entertainment is made by means of a lump sum paid— (a) as a subscription or contribution to any club, association or society; (b) for a season ticket; or (c) for the right of admission to a series of entertainments or to any entertainment during a certain period of time, Entertainments Duty 11 the entertainments duty shall be paid on such portion of that lump sum as together with the entertainments duty appropriate to such portion amounts in the aggregate to that lump sum. (2) If the Collector is of opinion that the payment of a lump sum or of any payment for a ticket includes other privileges, rights or purposes besides the admission to an entertainment, or covers admission to an entertainment during any period for which duty has not been in operation, the duty shall be charged on such amount as appears to the Collector to represent the right of admission to entertainments in respect of which entertainments duty is payable. (3) Any person aggrieved by the decision of the Collector under subsection (2) shall have the same right of appeal as is possessed by an aggrieved person under subsection 5(2) and subsections 5(3), (4