Heftier fines for contraband crimes

Customs Department taking steps to tighten rules involving illegal smuggling

PETALING JAYA: Sundry shops caught selling even one carton of contraband cigarettes will face a minimum fine of RM100,000 under laws that will come into effect soon as the Customs Department tightens rules involving illegal smuggling.

At present, those caught will normally end up paying a fine of 10 times the value of the contraband confiscated.

Increasing the fine is among moves the department will implement once amendments to the Customs Act 1967 and Excise Act 1976 are passed in Parliament and become law by Jan 1.

Customs director Datuk Seri Subromaniam Tholasy (pic) said with the amended law, Customs officers handling contraband would be monitored closely by an internal task force reporting directly to him.

“These are among the heavier deterrents taken to curb contraband.

“The new task force under the Integrity Department will report directly to me and has the authority to charge the officers in court under the Customs Act,” he told a press conference here yesterday.

He explained that all officers would have a set of standards to fulfil and those found guilty of offences were liable to fines between RM10,000 and RM500,000 under the Customs Act.

The proposed amendments to the Acts were passed by the Dewan Rakyat on Monday and will now go to the Dewan Negara.

Subromaniam hoped the heavier penalties would deter sellers from selling smuggled cigarettes as pres- ently, the big syndicates were able to pay off fines that were very low compared to the profits.

“We hope to cut down the demand for smuggled cigarettes. Every year, we have 2,000 cases in court (dealing with contraband) but the penalty was not deterrent enough.

“To the small shop owners, my advice is: it’s just not worth it (with the new penalties). Feigning ignorance that the contraband sold was not legal is not logical,” he said.

Subromaniam said companies that used their import licences as a camouflage for contraband would also lose their licences.

“If they do not import 2.5 million sticks of cigarettes legally per quarter yearly, their licence will be revoked or suspended,” he warned.

He added that many holding import licences for cigarettes and alcohol seemed to import nothing while some used these licences as a front to smuggle cigarettes.

Bootleggers, he said, would also not be spared under the new amendments.

Subromaniam said the heavier deterrents might be one way for the government to get an additional annual income of RM1bil in excise duties on cigarettes and RM300mil in excise duties on liquor.