Control containers; impose bond: Gerakan
Published on: Sunday, July 24, 2016
Labuan: Parti Gerakan Division Chairman, here, Dato' Oi Thiam Beng welcomed the decision by second Finance Minister, Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani, to postpone the move to tighten duty-free laws in the Federal Territories.Among the reported proposed changes was to limit the sale of liquor and tobacco products at designated outlets and to record purchases to a monthly quota of three crates of 24 cans of beer, five litres of liquor and three cartons of cigarettes per customer in an effort to curb smuggling of products out of the island. There was also to be a quota on supplies to entertainment outlets, starting August 1.
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"This is a clear indication that the Barisan Nasional (BN) government care for the people, willing to listen and to accept the public opinion when it comes to issues affecting the people," he said.He also commended the Prime Minister's directive to the authorities concerned to implement the said new ruling without causing any negative impact to the people and tourist in the three tax-free islands in the country, including Labuan.Describing Najib's directive as thoughtful, Oi suggested that the authorities concerned tighten control on the number of container transporting cigarettes and beers to the duty-free islands, as a measure to curb smuggling activity that resulted the government in losing nearly RM2 billion in revenues, yearly."They (the authorities concerned) should have a survey report on the monthly consumption of cigarettes and beer in the islands. They should also impose bond guarantee on the main cigarettes and beer importers for shipping their consignment.
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Only after the containers arrived at its destination should the bond be return to them. This is to prevent the consignments from landing in the non-duty-free areas," he said.Oi opined that the reported proposed restrictions would only worsen the island's economy which was already declining following the exodus of oil and gas sector workers, as petroleum prices fell. Furthermore, it will also adversely affect the tourism industry that the island is currently solely depended on.
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he also hoped the authority concerned would reconsider the implementation of "bank guarantee bond" to free-tax vehicle going out of the island, as the bond depending on the value of the vehicle could cost between a few thousand to tens of thousands of Ringgit."This requirement is very troublesome to the people, particularly those who have families in mainland Sabah. What if an emergency arises and they need to go to Sabah urgently? How are they going to pay for the bond?Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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