Tourism enterprises to be licensed
(1) No person shall carry on or operate, or hold himself out as carrying on or operating a tourism training institution unless that person holds a valid licence granted under this Part.
(2) No person shall carry on or operate, or hold himself out as carrying on or operating—
(a) a tour operating business; or
(b) a travel agency business,
unless it is a company and holds a valid licence granted under this Part.
(3) Any person who contravenes subsection (1) or (2) shall be guilty of an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding fifty thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years or to both, and in the case of a continuing offence, shall in addition, be liable to a daily fine not exceeding five thousand ringgit for each day the offence continues to be committed.
(4) For the avoidance of doubt, the *Education Act 1961 [Act 43 of 1961] shall not apply in relation to a person carrying on or operating a tourism training institution.
Submission of application for licence to the Commissioner
(1) An application for the grant of a licence under this Part shall be made in writing to the Commissioner in such form as may be determined.
(2) Every application under subsection (1) shall be accompanied by such documents or information as may be prescribed and the Commissioner may, at any time after receiving the application and before it is determined, verbally or in writing, require the applicant to provide such additional documents or information as may be considered necessary by the Commissioner for the purposes of determining the suitability of the applicant for the licence.
(3) The requirements under subsection (2) may differ as between different applicants, or different classes, categories or descriptions of applicants.
(4) Where any additional document or information required under subsection (2) is not provided by the applicant within the time specified in the requirement or any extension thereof granted by the Commissioner, the application shall be deemed to be withdrawn and shall not be further proceeded with, without prejudice to a fresh application being made by the applicant.
*NOTE—The Education Act 1961 [Act 43 of 1961] has since been repealed by the Education Act 1996 [Act 550]–see section 155 of Act 550.
Grant of or refusal to grant licence
(1) The Commissioner shall, on an application having been duly made in accordance with section 6 and after being provided with all such documents and information as he may require, consider the application, and where he is satisfied of the suitability of the applicant, and upon payment of the prescribed fees, grant the licence with or without conditions, or refuse to grant a licence.
(2) Every licence granted under subsection (1) shall set out the duration of the licence as may be prescribed and the licence number.
(3) Any person who has been granted a licence under subsection (1) may apply for supplementary licences for branch offices or premises for carrying on or operating the same type of tourism enterprise for which he was licensed.
(4) Where the Commissioner refuses to grant a licence, he shall immediately notify the applicant in writing of his refusal.
Revocation of licence
(1) The Commissioner may revoke a licence granted under section 7 if he is satisfied that—
(a) the licensed tourism enterprise has failed to comply with any obligation imposed upon it by or under this Act;
(b) the licensed tourism enterprise has contravened any condition imposed under the licence, any provision of this Act or any other written law, regardless that there has been no prosecution for an offence in respect of such contravention;
(c) the licensed tourism enterprise has, either in connection with the application for the licence or at any time after the grant of the licence, provided the Commissioner with false, misleading or inaccurate information, document or declaration made by or on behalf of the licensed tourism enterprise or by or on behalf of any person who is or is to be a director, controller or manager of the licensed tourism enterprise;
(d) the licensed tourism enterprise is carrying on its business in a manner which is prejudicial to the interest of the public, the tourism industry or to the national economy;
(e) the licensed tourism enterprise has not transacted any business in respect of which it is licensed for any continuous period of six months or has ceased to carry on any of the businesses or operations for which it is licensed;
(f) the licensed tourism enterprise has insufficient assets to meet its liabilities;
(g) a winding up order has been made against the licensed tourism enterprise or a resolution for its voluntary winding up has been passed;
(h) the licensed tourism enterprise or any of its officers holding a managerial or executive position has been convicted of any offence involving dishonesty, fraud or moral turpitude; or
(i) the licensed tourism enterprise or its director, manager or controller has been convicted of any offence under this Act.
(2) Before revoking a licence, the Commissioner shall give the licensed tourism enterprise a notice in writing of his intention to do so and require the licensed tourism enterprise to show cause within a period specified in the notice as to why the licence should not be revoked.
(3) Where the Commissioner decides to revoke the licence, he shall immediately inform the tourism enterprise concerned of his decision by a notice in writing.
(4) The revocation of a licence shall take effect—
(a) where there is no appeal against such revocation, on the expiration of fourteen days from the date on which the notice of revocation is served on the licensed tourism enterprise; or
(b) where there is an appeal against such revocation, when the revocation is confirmed by the Minister.
(5) Where an appeal has been made against the revocation of a licence, the licensed tourism enterprise whose licence has been so revoked shall not transact any new business until the appeal has been disposed of and the revocation has been set aside by the Minister.
(6) Any person who contravenes subsection (5) shall be guilty of an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding twenty thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to both.
(7) Where the revocation of a licence has taken effect, the Commissioner shall, as soon as practicable, cause such revocation to be advertised in at least one national daily Bahasa Malaysia and English newspaper for at least three consecutive days.
(8) Any delay or failure in advertising such notice of revocation shall not in any manner affect the validity of the revocation.
Appeal
(1) Any person who is aggrieved by—
(a) the refusal of the Commissioner to license any tourism enterprise under section 7 or to renew any such licence; or
(b) the revocation of any licence under section 8,
may appeal in writing to the Minister within fourteen days from the date on which the notice of refusal or revocation is served on that person.
(2) The decision of the Minister under this section shall be final and conclusive.
Surrender of licence
(1) A licensed tourism enterprise may surrender its licence by forwarding it, and any supplementary licence, to the Commissioner with a written notice of its surrender.
(2) The surrender shall take effect on the date the Commissioner receives the licences and the notice under subsection (1), or where a later date is specified in the notice, on that date.
(3) The licensed tourism enterprise shall, not later than fourteen days after the date referred to in subsection (2), cause such surrender to be advertised in at least one national daily Bahasa Malaysia and English newspaper for at least three consecutive days.
Effect of revocation, surrender or expiry of licence
(1) Where the revocation of a licence under section 8 or its surrender under section 10 has taken effect, or where the licence has expired, the licensed tourism enterprise shall immediately cease to carry on or operate any business in respect of which the licence was granted:
Provided that the Minister may, on the recommendation of the Commissioner, authorize the licensed tourism enterprise in writing to carry on such business for such duration as the Minister may specify in the authorization for the purpose of winding up its affairs.
(2) Any person who contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding fifty thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years or to both, and in the case of a continuing offence, shall, in addition, be liable to a daily fine not exceeding five thousand ringgit for each day the offence continues to be committed.
(3) Where a licence has been revoked under section 8, any supplementary licence thereto shall be deemed to be revoked.
(4) Notwithstanding subsection (1), a licensed tourism enterprise whose licence has expired shall be entitled to carry on its business as if its licence had not expired upon proof being submitted to the Commissioner that the licensed tourism enterprise has applied for a renewal of licence.
Return of licence
(1) Where the revocation of a licence under section 8 has taken effect, or where the licence has expired and no application for its renewal has been submitted within the period specified, the licensed tourism enterprise shall within fourteen days return the said licence, including any supplementary licence, to the Commissioner.
(2) Any person who contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding fifty thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years or to both, and in the case of a continuing offence, shall, in addition, be liable to a daily fine not exceeding five thousand ringgit for each day the offence continues to be committed, and the court shall retain the licence and any supplementary licence and forward them to the Commissioner.
Restriction on use of word “tour”, etc.
Except with the written consent of the Commissioner, no person, not being a licensed tourism enterprise, shall assume or use the words “tourism”, “tour”, “travel”, “tourist agency”, “travel agent” or “tour operator”, as the case may be, or any derivative of these words in any language, or any other words in any language capable of being construed as indicating the carrying on or operation of such business, in relation to the business or any part of the business carried on by such person, or make any representation to such effect in any bill head, letter, paper, notice, advertisement or in any other manner whatsoever.
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).
