Duty to keep records
(1) Every registered person shall keep a complete and true records of any person carried by the registered person leaving Malaysia and all transactions which affect or may affect his liability to charge departure levy, in such books of account or other records as the Director General may direct.
(2) Any record kept under this section shall be preserved for a period of seven years from the latest date to which the record relates.
(3) Where the record is in an electronically readable form, the record shall be kept in such manner as to enable the record to be readily accessible and convertible into writing.
(4) Where the record is originally in a manual form and is subsequently converted into an electronic form, the record shall be retained in its original form prior to the conversion.
(5) Any registered person who contravenes this section commits an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or to both.
Copy of record admissible in evidence
A copy of a record under section 17 shall be admissible in evidence in any proceedings to the same extent as the record itself.
Furnishing of returns
(1) Every registered person shall—
(a) account for the departure levy due on a monthly period in the return as may be prescribed; and
(b) furnish the return to the Director General in the prescribed manner not later than the last day of the month following the end of the monthly period to which the return relates.
(2) Any registered person who ceases to be registered under section 16 shall, not later than thirty days after such cessation or such later date as the Director General may allow, furnish a return as the Director General may determine in respect of that part of the last period during which the person was registered.
(3) The return referred to in subsections (1) and (2) shall be furnished whether or not there is any departure levy to be paid.
(4) Any registered person who fails to furnish a return commits an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding five hundred thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or to both.
Payment of departure levy
(1) Any registered person who is required to furnish a return under section 19 shall pay to the Director General the amount of departure levy due and payable by the registered person in respect of the period to which the return relates not later than the last day on which the operator is required to furnish the return.
(2) Where any departure levy due and payable is not paid wholly or partly by any registered person after the last day on which the departure levy is due and payable under subsection (1) and no prosecution is instituted, the registered person shall pay—
(a) for the first thirty-day period that the departure levy is not paid wholly or partly after the expiry of the period specified under subsection (1), a penalty of ten per cent of the amount of the departure levy remaining unpaid;
(b) for the second thirty-day period that the departure levy is not paid wholly or partly after the expiry of the period specified under subsection (1) an additional penalty of fifteen per cent of the amount of the departure levy remaining unpaid; and
(c) for the third thirty-day period that the departure levy is not paid wholly or partly after the expiry of the period specified under subsection (1) an additional penalty of fifteen per cent of the amount of the departure levy remaining unpaid.
(3) Any registered person who fails to pay to the Director General the amount of the departure levy due and payable under subsection (1), commits an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding five hundred thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or to both.
(4) In addition to any fine imposed by the court under subsection (3), the court may order any registered person who is convicted for an offence under subsection (3) to pay the penalty as specified in subsection (2).
Period for institution of prosecution for non-payment of departure levy
(1) Subject to subsection (2), prosecution for an offence under subsection 20(3) may be instituted after the expiry of the period specified in paragraph 20(2)(c).
(2) No prosecution for an offence under subsection 20(3) shall be instituted against the registered person who has paid the amount of the departure levy due and payable, and the penalty specified under subsection 20(2) within the period specified in the same subsection.
Power to assess
(1) Where—
(a) any operator or agent fails to apply for registration;
(b) any registered person fails to furnish a return; or
(c) any registered person furnishes a return which appears to the Director General to be incomplete or incorrect,
the Director General may assess to the best of his judgement the amount of departure levy due and payable, and the penalty payable under subsection 20(2), if any, by such person, and the Director General shall notify such person of the assessment in writing.
(2) The assessment under subsection (1) shall not be made more than six years from the date on which the departure levy was due and payable.
Assessment of departure levy at amount greater than appropriate
(1) Where—
(a) the Director General makes an assessment under paragraph 22(1)(b) or (c);
(b) the departure levy assessed has been paid but no return has been furnished for the period to which the assessment relates; and
(c) the registered person fails to furnish a return for any subsequent period,
the Director General may, as he deems fit, assess the amount of the departure levy greater than that which otherwise would have been considered to be appropriate.
(2) Where it appears to the Director General that the amount which ought to have been assessed in the assessment under subsection (1) exceeds the amount which was so assessed, the Director General may under the same provisions as that assessment was made and within the period during which that assessment could have been made, make a supplementary assessment and shall notify the registered person in writing accordingly.
Assessment to make good loss of departure levy attributable to fraud, etc.
Where in the opinion of the Director General any form of fraud or default has been committed by or on behalf of any person in connection with or in relation to departure levy, the Director General may, for the purposes of making good any loss of departure levy attributable to the fraud or default, make an assessment at any time.
Registered person to pay departure levy and penalty upon notified
(1) Where the amount of the departure levy and penalty, if any, have been assessed and notified to any registered person, it shall be deemed to be the amount of departure levy due and payable and penalty payable, if any, and may be recovered accordingly and the amount of departure levy and penalty, if any, shall be paid by the registered person, unless or except to the extent that the assessment has been withdrawn or reduced by the Director General.
(2) The amount of departure levy due and payable and penalty payable shall be paid by the registered person whether or not that registered person applies for a review under section 59 against the assessment.
Director General may alter assessment, etc., to ensure correctness
The Director General may make any alteration in or addition to any assessment made as he deems fit to ensure the correctness of the assessment and shall forthwith notify the registered person in writing.
Power to collect departure levy, etc., from person owing money to registered person
(1) Where any departure levy is due and payable or any penalty is payable by any registered person, the Director General may, by notice in writing, require—
(a) any person by whom any money is due or accruing or may become due and payable to the registered person;
(b) any person who holds or may subsequently hold money for or on account of the registered person; or
(c) any person having authority from any other person to pay money to the registered person,
to pay to the Director General forthwith, or within such period as the Director General allows, such money, not being salary or wages due or accruing to the registered person, or so much of such money as is sufficient to pay the departure levy due and payable, accruing or penalty payable by the registered person.
(2) All payments made pursuant to a notice under subsection (1) shall be deemed to be made on behalf of the registered person and with the authority of the registered person and all other persons concerned.
Recovery of departure levy, etc., erroneously refunded
(1) Where any departure levy or penalty after having been paid has been erroneously refunded to any person, the person shall pay the departure levy or penalty erroneously refunded to him whether or not a demand is made by the Director General.
(2) The demand referred to in subsection (1) shall be made by the Director General within six years from the date the refund was made.
(3) Upon receipt of the demand under subsection (2), the person shall repay the refund erroneously paid to him.
Recovery of departure levy, etc., as civil debt
(1) Without prejudice to any other remedy and notwithstanding any decision of the officer of customs, any departure levy due and payable or penalty payable by the registered person under this Act may be recovered as a civil debt due to the Government.
(2) In any proceedings to recover the departure levy or penalty if any, under subsection (1), the production of a certificate signed by the Director General giving the name and address of the registered person and the amount of the departure levy due and payable or penalty payable, if any, shall be sufficient evidence of the amount as due and payable or payable by him and shall be sufficient authority for the court to give judgment for that amount.
(3) Any penalty imposed under this Act shall, for the purposes of this Act and the Limitation Act 1953 [Act 254], the Limitation Ordinance of Sabah [Sabah Cap. 72] or the Limitation Ordinance of Sarawak [Sarawak Cap. 49], as the case may be, be recoverable as if it were penalty payable under this Act and accordingly subsection 6(4) of the Limitation Act 1953, section 3 of the Limitation Ordinance of Sabah or section 3 of the Limitation Ordinance of Sarawak, as the case may be, shall not apply to that penalty.
Liability of directors, etc.
(1) Notwithstanding any written law to the contrary, and subject to subsection (2), where departure levy is due and payable or penalty is payable under this Act by any company, limited liability partnership, firm, society, or other body of persons, the directors of such company, the compliance officer of the limited liability partnership, the partners of such firm, the office-bearers of such society or the persons responsible for the management of the body of person, as the case may be, shall, together with such company, limited liability partnership, firm, society, or other body of persons be jointly and severally liable for the departure levy or penalty.
(2) In relation to a company that is being wound up, the directors of the company shall only be so liable where the assets of the company are insufficient to meet the amount due, after paying any sum having priority under the Companies Act 2016 [Act 777] in relation to the application of the assets of the company in winding up over the departure levy or penalty.
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).
