KUALA LUMPUR: Travellers arriving in or leaving Malaysia by air will now have to fill up a customs declaration form, said the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM).
CAAM chief executive officer Captain Chester Voo Chee Son said in an advisory on Tuesday (Oct 4), that this is to comply with the requirement set by the Royal Malaysian Customs Department (RMCD) issued on Sep 5.
In a letter to CAAM, the department said that declaration of Customs Form No. 7 (K7) is a requirement under several legal provisions, namely Section 103 of the Custom Act 1967 and the Customs Regulation 2019.
Captain Voo said that in complying with the provisions of the legislation, all airlines entering Malaysia have been requested to make the announcement to all passengers on the requirement to fill up the form.
“To comply with the provisions of this legislation for passengers arriving in Malaysia by air, RMCD requests the cooperation of all airlines entering Malaysia to make announcements to all passengers on the requirement to fill up Form K7 and to submit it to the duty officer of customs at the airport,” said Captain Voo.
According to the form, every person arriving in or leaving Malaysia must declare all dutiable or prohibited goods, cash money and/or Bearer Negotiated Instrument (BNI) exceeding the equivalent of US$10,000 in his or her possession.
It said that failure to make a declaration will be an offence.
A spokesperson from the Customs Department told CNA that the requirement to fill up the form will only apply to air travellers.
No reasons were given for the resumption of this practice which, according to the Malaysian media, was stopped many years ago.
According to the Star, before this directive came into immediate effect, all passengers were only required to verbally declare dutiable goods, prohibited items or any amount above US$10,000 to the customs officers.