Appointment of Director General, Deputy Director General and other officers
(1) There shall be appointed an officer to be styled the Director General of Customs and Excise and such number of Deputy Directors General, Assistant Directors General, Directors, Senior Assistant Directors and Assistant Directors of Customs and Excise as may be considered necessary for the purpose of this Act and any written law relating to excise.
(2) The Director General shall be the Chief Officer of Customs and shall have the superintendence of all matters relating to the customs, subject to the direction and control of the Minister.
(3) The Deputy Directors General, Assistant Directors General, Directors, Senior Assistant Directors and Assistant Directors shall be subject to the general direction and supervision of the Director General, and, subject thereto, shall have and exercise all powers conferred on the Director General by or under this Act, other than those conferred by sections 13B, 22 and 145 thereof.
(4) There shall be appointed so many Senior Superintendents, Superintendents and Assistant Superintendents of Customs and Excise as may be considered necessary for the purposes of this Act and any written law relating to excise.
(5) The Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, invest any officer of customs not being a senior officer of customs with all or any of the powers of a senior officer of customs.
Appointment of Customs Officers
There shall be appointed so many Chief Customs Officers, Senior Customs Officers, and Customs Officers as may be considered necessary for the purposes of this Act.
Investment of powers of senior officer of customs by Director General
The Director General may by authorization in writing invest any officer of customs not being a senior officer of customs with all or any of the powers of a senior officer of custom for a period not exceeding ninety days in respect of any one authorization.
Officers of customs to be public servants
All officers of customs shall be deemed to be public servants within the meaning of the Penal Code [Act 574].
Officers of customs exempted from serving as jurors or assessors
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in any written law no officer of customs shall be liable to serve as juror or assessor.
Powers of District Officers, Assistant District Officers and Police Officers
For the purpose of this Act, any District Officer or Assistant District Officer in any district in which there is for the time being no senior officer of customs, and all police officers not below the rank of Inspector shall have and may exercise all the powers conferred by this Act on senior officers of customs, and all police officers below the rank of Inspector shall have and may exercise all the powers conferred by this Act on officers of customs.
Minister may prescribe uniforms, etc.
The Minister may, by order published in the Gazette, prescribe—
(a) uniforms and rank markings for any rank of officers of customs; and
(b) the authority card and badge to be carried by any rank of officers of customs.
Badges and authority cards to be produced
(1) Every officer of customs when acting against any person under this Act shall, if not in uniform, on demand declare his office and produce to the person against whom he is acting such badge or authority card as the Director General or, in the case of a police officer, the Inspector General of Police, may direct to be carried by such officers.
(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 is not in uniform and refuses to declare his office and produce his badge or authority card, on demand being made by such person.
(3) A badge or an authority card issued to an officer of customs shall be the property of the Government and shall be surrendered by such officer to the person appointed by the Director General for that purpose when such officer ceases to be an officer of customs or when instructed to do so.
Unlawful use, possession, etc., of uniform, etc.
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, any prescribed uniform or badge or authority card, or any dress having the appearance of or bearing the distinctive marks of such uniform shall be guilty of an offence under this Act.
Persons employed on customs duty to be deemed proper officers of customs for such service
Every person employed on any duty or service relating to the customs by the orders or with the concurrence of the Director General (whether previously or subsequently expressed) shall be deemed to be the proper officer of customs for that duty or service; and every act required by law at any time to be done by, or with any particular officer nominated for such purpose, if done by or with any person appointed by the Director General to act for such particular officer, shall be deemed to be done by or with such particular officer.
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).
