Powers of enforcement, inspection and investigation
For the purposes of this Act, a senior officer of goods and services tax shall have all the powers of a police officer of whatever rank as provided for under the Criminal Procedure Code [Act 593] in relation to enforcement, inspection and investigation, and such powers shall be in addition to the powers provided for under this Act and not in derogation thereof.
Access to place or premises
(1) Any senior officer of goods and services tax shall for the purposes of this Act at all times have full and free access to any place or premise where any person carries on his business. (2) Where any senior officer of goods and services tax exercises his powers under subsection (1), the person who carries on his business or any other person present at the place or premises at that time of entry shall provide to him all reasonable facilities and assistance for the exercise of his duties under this section. (3) Where any senior officer of goods and services tax enters upon any place or premises in accordance with this section, he may— (a) require the taxable person or any other person to produce any goods, document or thing which relates to the person’s business and, if he is a taxable person, any record which is required to be kept under section 36; (b) examine any goods, document or thing; (c) seize and detain any goods, document or thing if in his opinion it may afford evidence of the commission of any offence under this Act; (d) require the person to answer any question relating to any goods, document or thing; (e) require any container, envelope or other receptacle in the place or premises to be opened; (f) at the risk and expense of the owner of the business, open and examine any package, or any goods or material in the place or premises; or (g) take samples of any goods or material and make copies or extracts of any document, if he deems necessary. (4) Where any senior officer of goods and services tax is unable to obtain full and free access to the place or premises under subsection (1) or to any receptacle contained therein, he may, at any time, enter the place or premises and open the receptacle by force, if necessary. (5) Any person who refuses to permit any senior officer of goods and services tax to enter upon any place or premises in accordance with this section commits an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding seven years or to a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand ringgit or to both.
Magistrate may issue search warrant
(1) Whenever it appears to any Magistrate, upon written information upon oath and after any inquiry which he may think necessary, that there is reasonable cause to believe that in any place, premises or conveyance, there are concealed or deposited any goods, document or thing which may afford evidence of the commission of an offence under this Act, the Magistrate may issue a warrant authorizing any officer of goods and services tax named therein, at any time and with or without assistance— (a) to enter the place, premises or conveyance and to search for and seize the goods, document or thing; (b) to arrest any person being in the place, premises or conveyance in whose possession the goods, document or thing are found or who may reasonably be suspected as having concealed or deposited such goods, document or thing. (2) The officer of goods and services tax authorized under subsection (1) may, if it is necessary so to do— (a) break open any outer or inner door of the place, premises or conveyance and enter every part thereof, if necessary forcibly; (b) remove by force any obstruction to the entry to search or to seize as he is empowered to effect; and (c) detain every person found in the place, premises or conveyance until the search has been completed.
Search may be made without warrant
Whenever it appears to the senior officer of goods and services tax that there is reasonable cause to believe that in any place, premises or conveyance there are concealed or deposited any goods, document or thing which may afford evidence of the commission of any offence under this Act and if he has reasonable grounds for believing that by reason of the delay in obtaining a search warrant the goods, document or thing are likely to be removed, he may exercise in, upon and in respect of the place, premises or conveyance, all the powers under section 81 in the same manner as if he was empowered so to do by a warrant issued under that section.
Power to stop and search conveyance
(1) The officer of goods and services tax may stop and examine any conveyance for the purposes of ascertaining whether any goods in respect of which he has reason to believe that an offence under this Act has been committed are contained therein and the person in control or in charge of the conveyance shall, if required so to do by the officer of goods and services tax— (a) stop the conveyance and allow the officer of goods and services tax to examine it; (b) move the conveyance to another place for examination; and (c) not proceed until permission to do so has been given by the officer of goods and services tax. (2) The person in control or in charge of the conveyance examined under this section shall, on the request of the officer of goods and services tax, open all parts of the conveyance for examination by the officer of goods and services tax and take all measures necessary to enable the examination as the officer of goods and services tax considers necessary to be made.
Seizure of goods, etc., the subject of an offence
(1) All goods, document or thing in respect of which the officer of goods and services tax has reasonable cause to suspect that there has been committed any offence under this Act or any violation of any of the provisions of this Act and any receptacle, package or conveyance (if the conveyance is a vessel, the vessel is not exceeding two hundred tonnes net of its registered tonnage or if the conveyance is an aircraft, the aircraft is other than an aircraft engaged in international carriage) in which the goods, document or thing may have been found or which has been used in connection with the offence or violation, and any other goods, document or thing which may reasonably be believed to have a bearing on the case, may be seized by the officer of goods and services tax in any place either on land or in the territorial waters. (2) Whenever any goods, document, thing, receptacle, package or conveyance are seized under this Act, the officer of goods and services tax shall forthwith give notice in writing of the seizure and the grounds thereof to the owner of the goods, document, receptacle, package or conveyance, if known, either by delivering the notice to him personally or by post at his place of abode, if known. (3) This section is relating to the seizure of— (a) any goods, document or thing shall apply to all the contents of any receptacle, package or conveyance in which the same are found and to any article used to conceal the same; and (b) any conveyance shall apply to the tackle, equipment and furnishings of the conveyance and if the conveyance is an animal vehicle, to any animal by which the same is drawn. (4) Any goods of a perishable nature or any animal seized under this section may forthwith be sold and the proceeds of the sale held to abide the result of any prosecution or claim.
Return or disposal of movable goods
(1) For the purpose of investigation, where any movable goods has been seized under this Part, a senior officer of goods and services tax may, at his discretion— (a) temporarily return the movable goods to the owner thereof or to the person from whose possession, custody or control it was seized, or to any person as the senior officer of goods and services tax may consider entitled thereto, subject to such terms and conditions as the senior officer of goods and services tax may impose, and, subject in any case, to sufficient security being furnished to the satisfaction of the senior officer of goods and services tax that the movable goods shall be surrendered to the senior officer of goods and services tax on demand being made by the senior officer of goods and services tax and that the said terms and conditions, if any, shall be complied with; (b) return the movable goods to the owner thereof or to the person from whose possession, custody or control it was seized, or to such person as the senior officer of goods and services tax may consider entitled thereto, with liberty for the person to whom the movable goods is so returned to dispose of the same, the return being subject to security being furnished to the satisfaction of the senior officer of goods and services tax in an amount not less than an amount which, in the opinion of the senior officer of goods and services tax, represents— (i) the value of the movable goods, on the date on which the goods are so returned; and (ii) the tax due and payable in respect thereof, for the payment of the amount secured to the Director General in the event of the court making an order for the forfeiture under section 117; or (c) sell or destroy the movable goods, as appropriate in the circumstances, where it is a living creature or where, in the opinion of the senior officer of goods and services tax, it is of a perishable or dangerous nature or likely to speedily deteriorate in quality or value, and where it is sold, he shall hold the proceeds of sale to abide the result of any prosecution or claim. (2) Whenever any movable goods are returned or disposed under subsection (1), a document purporting to be a certificate in accordance with subsection 112(1) shall be issued by the senior officer of goods and services tax. (3) Any person who— (a) fails to surrender on demand to a senior officer of goods and services tax the movable goods temporarily returned to him under paragraph (1)(a); or (b) fails to comply with or contravenes any of the terms or conditions imposed under paragraph (1)(a), commits an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding ten thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or to both. (4) The criminal liability of any person under subsection (3) shall be in addition to any other liability that the said person or any other person may incur under the terms and conditions relating to the return of the movable goods under paragraph (1)(a). (5) The provisions of subsection (3) shall not apply to the person, if any, who is the guarantor or surety of the person to whom the goods is returned under paragraph (1)(a). (6) The Minister may, either generally or in any particular case or class of cases, give such directions to the Director General as he may deem necessary or expedient with regard to the exercise of the powers conferred on the senior officer of goods and services tax under subsection (1). (7) No person shall be entitled to maintain any action on account of any act done or any decision taken by or on behalf of the Minister or by or on behalf of a senior officer of goods and services tax under this section, and no court shall have any jurisdiction to entertain any such action. (8) For the purposes of this section, “movable goods” includes any description of movable goods whatsoever seized under this Act.
Power of arrest
(1) Any officer of goods and services tax may arrest without warrant— (a) any person found committing or attempting to commit, or employing or aiding any person to commit or abetting the commission of, an offence under this Act; (b) any person whom he may reasonably suspect to have in his possession any goods, document or thing liable to seizure under this Part; (c) any person whom he may reasonably suspect to have committed an offence under this Act, and the officer of goods and services tax may search or cause to be searched any person so arrested: Provided that— (A) any person so arrested who requests that his person be searched in the presence of a senior officer of goods and services tax shall not be searched except in the presence of and under the supervision of the officer, but the person may be detained until the arrival of the officer, or taken to any office or police station where the officer may be found; (b) the goods and baggage of any person who requests to be present when they are searched and so presents himself within a reasonable time shall not be searched except in his presence; (c) no person shall be searched except by another person of the same gender, and such search shall be conducted with strict regard to decency. (2) Any officer of goods and services tax making an arrest under subsection (1) shall, without unnecessary delay, bring the person arrested to the nearest police station, and thereafter the person shall be dealt with in accordance with the law relating to criminal procedure for the time being in force. (3) If any person liable to arrest under this Act is not arrested at the time of committing the offence for which he is so liable, or after the arrest makes his escape, he may at any time thereafter be arrested and dealt with as if he had been arrested at the time of committing the offence. (4) A senior officer of goods and services tax may cause to be taken photographs, finger, thumb impressions and any other form of identification that may be required under any other written law of any person charged with an offence against this Act. (5) Every person so arrested may be released from custody— (a) on his depositing such reasonable sum of money as the senior officer of goods and services tax may require; (b) on his executing a bond, with such surety or sureties, as the senior officer of goods and services tax may require; or (c) on his depositing such reasonable sum of money as the senior officer of goods and services tax may require and his executing a bond, with such surety or sureties, as the senior officer of goods and services tax may require. (6) Any person who has been released from custody under subsection (5) may be arrested without warrant by any officer of goods and services tax— (a) if the officer has reasonable grounds for believing that any condition on or subject to which the person was released or otherwise admitted to bail has been or is likely to be breached; or (b) on being notified in writing by the surety of the person that the person is likely to breach any condition on or subject to which the person was released and that the surety wishes to be relieved of his obligation as surety.
Provisions on this page are reproduced verbatim from official open data. See the attribution line.
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).