Functions and powers of Director General and other officers
(1) The Director General shall have the superintendence of all matters relating to the departure levy, subject to the direction and control of the Minister.
(2) Subject to the general direction and supervision of the Director General, a senior officer of customs shall have and exercise all powers conferred on the Director General by or under this Act.
(3) Any officer of customs shall have the duties and powers to enforce and ensure due compliance with the provisions of this Act.
(4) Any person, other than an officer of customs may be appointed by, or employed with the concurrence of, the Director General for any duty or service relating to departure levy and such person shall be deemed to be an officer of customs for that duty or service.
(5) The Director General may, by authorization in writing, confer on any person appointed or employed under subsection (4), all or any of the powers of a senior officer of customs by or under this Act, for a period not exceeding ninety days in respect of any one authorization.
Persons appointed or employed to be public servants
Every person appointed or employed under subsection 4(4) for any duty or service relating to departure levy shall be deemed to be a public servant within the meaning of the Penal Code [Act 574].
Recognition of office
(1) Every officer of customs when discharging his duties shall, on demand made by any person, declare his office and produce to the person the authority card or badge prescribed under section 8a of the Customs Act 1967 or in the case of any officer of customs appointed under subsection 4(4), any other authority card as may be approved by the Director General.
(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 refuses to declare his office and produce his authority card or badge on demand being made by the person.
(3) 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—
(a) any uniform prescribed under section 8a of the Customs Act 1967 or any dress having the appearance of, or bearing the distinctive marks of, such uniform; or
(b) any prescribed authority card or badge, or authority card as approved by the Director General, referred to in subsection (1),
commits an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding fifty thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or to both.
Confidentiality of information
(1) Every person, having any official duty or being appointed or employed under this Act, shall regard and deal with all documents, information, returns or declarations relating to the business or value of the provision of services by any registered person as confidential.
(2) Subject to subsection 8(1), every person having possession or control over any document, information, return or declaration or copies of such document, information, return or declaration, in relation to the business or the value of the departure levy by any person, who at any time, otherwise than for the purposes of this Act or with the express authority of the Director General—
(a) communicates or attempts to communicate the information or anything contained in the document, return or declaration or copies of such document, return or declaration to any person; or
(b) suffers or permits any person to have access to any information or to anything contained in the document, return or declaration or copies of such document, return or declaration,
commits an offence.
(3) No person having any official duty or being appointed or employed under this Act or who is referred to in subsection 8(1) shall be required to produce in any matters or proceedings in any court or tribunal any document, information, return or declaration or to divulge or communicate in the matters or proceedings of any matter or thing, coming under his notice in the performance of his duties under this Act, except as may be necessary for the purposes of carrying into effect the provisions of this Act or in order to institute a prosecution or in the course of a prosecution for any offence committed under this Act.
Director General may transmit, etc., document, etc.
(1) The Director General may, as he deems fit, transmit or communicate any document, information, return or declaration referred to in subsection 7(1) or anything contained in such document, information, return or declaration to the Chief Statistician of the Department of Statistics Malaysia which may be required in the performance of his official duty.
(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), the Minister may, as he deems fit, allow the Director General to transmit or communicate any document, information, return or declaration referred to in subsection 7(1) or anything contained in such document, information, return or declaration to any other person.
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).
