Licence to distil, ferment or otherwise manufacture dutiable goods
Open ↗(1) Subject to this Part no person shall distil, ferment or otherwise manufacture any dutiable goods, or manufacture any tobacco or intoxicating liquor except under and in accordance with a licence in the prescribed form issued by the Director General, and at the distillery, brewery or other place of manufacture specified in such licence.
(2) The Minister may by order exempt, subject to such conditions as he may deem fit to impose, any class of persons from subsection (1).
(3) A licence under this section shall be issued at the discretion of the Director General and shall be issued on payment of such fees, and subject to such conditions as may be fixed by him in each case and to such further conditions as the Director General may direct to be endorsed on the licence.
(4) Notwithstanding the generality of subsection (3), the Director General may require any person being granted a licence under this section to give such security for the due compliance by that person with this Act and generally for the protection of the excise revenue as the Director General deems fit; and pending the giving of the said security the Director General may refuse to issue any licence.
(5) A licence issued under this section may be transferred, suspended or cancelled at any time by the Director General.
(6) When a licence is suspended or cancelled the licensee shall not be entitled to refund of any licence fees paid.
(7) Any licensee may apply in writing to the Director General—
(a) to transfer his licence to any other person; and in any such case such other person shall join in such application;
(b) to transfer his refinery or his place of manufacture to any other place,
and the Director General may, at his discretion, refuse to grant any such application; and where the Director General has granted any such application he shall, on surrender of the existing licence and on payment of the prescribed fee, if any, make the necessary endorsement thereon or issue a fresh licence as he may deem most convenient.
(8) A licence to distil, ferment or otherwise manufacture dutiable goods, shall be deemed to include a licence for warehousing dutiable goods as provided for under subsection 25(1).
(9) Any regulations made under section 85 to regulate the control of licensed warehouses shall apply to warehouses deemed to be so licensed under subsection (8) to such extent as the Director General may direct.
No person except a licensee to keep a still, etc.
Open ↗(1) Subject to subsection (4) and subsection 20(2), no person other than the holder of a licence under subsection 20(1) or a person exempted under section 22 shall knowingly keep or have in his possession any still, utensil or other apparatus for distilling, fermenting or otherwise manufacturing dutiable goods, or any power operated machine for manufacturing tobacco or any part or accessory of such machine.
(2) No person other than a licensed tobacco manufacturer, or a person exempted under subsection 20(2), shall knowingly keep or have in his possession any manually operated machine for manufacturing tobacco or any part or accessory of such machine.
(3) The owner or occupier of any land or premises upon which any still, utensil or other apparatus for distilling or fermenting or otherwise manufacturing any dutiable goods or any power operated or manually operated machinery for the manufacture of tobacco is found shall each be deemed, until the contrary is proved, knowingly to have kept or had in his possession such still, utensil or other apparatus or power operated or manually operated machinery for the manufacture of tobacco, as the case may be.
(4) Nothing in subsection (1) shall apply to any still, utensil or other apparatus for distilling, fermenting or otherwise manufacturing dutiable goods, or to any power operated machine for manufacturing tobacco, or to any part or accessory of such machine—
(a) held as stock by a bona fide dealer in such apparatus or machinery;
(b) with the approval of the Director General, in the possession of any person constructing a distillery, brewery or other place of manufacture of dutiable goods, or in the possession of any person in occupation of any such distillery, brewery or other place of manufacture in respect of which a licence under subsection 20(1) had previously been in force and had with the approval of the Director General been surrendered, suspended or not renewed on account of the cessation of the operation for which the place of manufacture was licensed.
Exemptions
Open ↗(1) Nothing in this Act shall apply to any distillation of dutiable goods by—
(a) a registered medical practitioner;
(b) a registered pharmacist; or
(c) a qualified chemist with the approval of the Director General,
where such distillation is proved to the satisfaction of the Director General to be for genuine medical or scientific purposes.
(2) Nothing in this Act shall apply to any native—
(a) knowingly keeping or having in his possession any utensil, other than a still, for manufacturing; or
(b) manufacturing, other than by distillation,
any native liquor for his own consumption.
Removal of dutiable goods from licensed premises
Open ↗(1) No dutiable goods shall be removed from—
(a) any distillery, brewery or other place of manufacture specified in a licence issued under section 20;
(b) a public excise warehouse established under section 24;
(c) any licensed warehouse; or
(d) any other place under excise control,
except in accordance with a permit in the prescribed form approved by the proper officer or in accordance with regulations made under section 85.
(2) If it appears at any time that in any place or warehouse referred to in subsection (1) there is a deficiency in any lot, consignment or package of dutiable goods which ought to be found therein, the licensee of such place or warehouse shall, in the absence of proof to the contrary, be presumed to have illegally removed such goods and shall, without prejudice to any proceedings under this Act, be liable to pay forthwith to the proper officer the duty leviable on the goods found deficient:
Provided that if it is shown to the satisfaction of the Director General that such deficiency has been caused by unavoidable leakage, breakage or other accident, or by evaporation, the Director General may remit the whole or any part of the duty leviable on the goods found deficient.
Liquidator of company to give notice of winding up and set aside duty
23 A. (1) Where an effective resolution is passed or an order is made for the winding up of a company to which a licence under this Act is issued or which is an importer, the liquidator of the company shall give notice thereof to the Director General within fourteen days thereafter, and shall before disposing of any of the assets of the company set aside such sum out of the assets as appears to the Director General to be sufficient to provide for any excise duty that is or will thereafter become payable in respect of the company, and shall pay such excise duty.
(2) A liquidator of any such company who fails to give notice to the Director General within the time specified in subsection (1) or fails to provide for payment of the excise duty as required by that subsection shall be personally liable for any excise duty that is or becomes payable as aforesaid.
(2A) Any liquidator of a company who fails to comply with subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence against this Act and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding ten thousand ringgit.
(3) Where two or more persons are appointed liquidators or are required by law to carry out the winding up of any such company, subject to a right of contribution between themselves as in cases of contract, the obligations and liabilities attaching to a liquidator under this section shall attach to all such persons jointly and severally.
Appointment of receiver to be notified to the Director General
Open ↗(1) Where a receiver is appointed of the property of a company to which a licence under this Act is issued or which is an importer, the receiver shall give notice thereof to the Director General within fourteen days thereafter, and shall before disposing of any of the assets of that company set aside such sum out of the assets as appears to the Director General to be sufficient to provide for any excise duty that is or will thereafter become payable in respect of the dutiable goods that have been sold by the company before the appointment of the receiver, and shall pay such excise duty.
(2) A person appointed as receiver who fails to give notice to the Director General within the time specified in subsection (1) or fails to provide for payment of the excise duty as required by that subsection shall be personally liable for any excise duty that is or becomes payable as aforesaid.
(2A) Any receiver who fails to comply with subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence against this Act and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding ten thousand ringgit.
(3) Where two or more persons are appointed receivers, subject to a right of contribution between themselves as in cases of contract, the obligations and liabilities attaching to a receiver under this section shall attach to all such persons jointly and severally.
Source: Laws of Malaysia, Attorney General's Chambers of Malaysia (lom.agc.gov.my). Not a copy of the Gazette printed by the Government Printer (Interpretation Acts 1948 and 1967, s 61).
