New Cars Garage

Politicians among 79 who have taken vehicles out of Langkawi
LANGKAWI: Two prominent politicians are among several VVIPs being tracked by the Customs Department for taking luxury vehicles out of the duty-free island without paying excise duties.

They are among the 79 people who have breached Clause 21 (1) of the Customs Duty Order (Exemption) 1988 by keeping the vehicles away from the island for more than a month in a year.

Customs are seeking the help of the police and the Road Transport Department (JPJ) to help track down the vehicles including BMW, Mercedes Benz, Toyota and high-end motorcycles. The other cars include Proton and Hyundai.

Before tax, the prices of various models of Mercedes Benz range from RM62,193 to RM466,110. For BMWs, a 325i costs RM200,000 while a 318 costs RM103,000.

When the vehicles are taken out of Langkawi, import duty and excise and sales tax amounting to between 150.25% and 193.15% would be charged depending on the capacity of the car.

The amount of excise duties is based on the price list of vehicles fixed by the Finance Ministry’s valuation.

A Harley Davidson motorcycle is about 69% cheaper on the island.

Langkawi Customs chief Abdul Mutalib Embi declined to comment on VVIP involvement.

“I can confirm that we are working on a mechanism to check attempts to evade duties.

“We are in talks with JPJ to ensure road tax for vehicles bought in Langkawi can only be renewed on the island.

“We are also seeking police help to seize the vehicles if they spot them during roadblocks,” he said yesterday.

Abdul Mutalib said some of the vehicles were taken out of Langkawi 17 years ago and had yet to return.

“We keep track of all the duty-free vehicles that had been taken out. These cars can only be taken out of the island once owners pay up the duties.

“The older the car the lower the duty as its value would have depreciated,” he said.

Source: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/9/24/nation/18976278&sec=nation&focus=1