Malaysian minister to take up machinery duty complaints with Customs
Some businesses say they paid import duties despite holding Mida exemption approvals, with allegations that payments remained unrefunded.
Malaysia’s Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani plans to consult the Customs Department and Finance Ministry over complaints that companies were charged machinery import duties despite having approved exemptions.
Johari said business operators raised the complaints at a dialogue in Melaka. Some said they held exemption letters from the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida) but were still required to pay duties when importing machinery.
There were also allegations that companies could not obtain refunds after their exemption status had been clarified. Johari said he had not examined the relevant documents and asked businesses to submit complete details so he could investigate, including why any payments remained unrefunded.
He warned that such charges could hurt companies’ cash flow, especially small and medium-sized enterprises buying machinery to make production more efficient. He said exemptions were intended to support those investments.
Johari called for coordination between government agencies to ensure policies were carried out effectively. He said business dialogues helped identify implementation problems and obtain feedback directly from industry operators.
