LABUAN, May 20 — The Royal Malaysian Customs Department will facilitate the transhipment activities for rice and sugar consignments on the duty-free island of Labuan and Sabah.

A May 19 letter sighted by Bernama said that the Sabah customs must provide standard operating procedures (SOPs) for transhipment and monitoring procedures for rice and sugar consignments at all Sabah and Labuan customs.

It also said that the Sabah customs must ensure that the final port destination of the goods must be written clearly in the Bill of Lading issued the deliverying countries and not just any ports in Sabah or Malaysia.

"This is to ensure that it is in line with the definition of transhipment and in accordance with customs laws,” the letter said.

Sabah customs must also ensure that the consignments are stored in the respective port’s warehouse for a duration of one month.

It also stated that the monthly quantity statement of rice and sugar consignments (stored/taken out at/from the warehouse) must be prepared by a company representative, importer, or shipping agent for custom’s submission.

Rice and sugar consignments are also permitted to be stored in warehousing outside of the ports. However, the party who wants to do this must get a permit in advance from the relevant agencies controlling rice and sugar, sign the customs form and pay the duties/taxes involved.

Megah Port Management Sdn Bhd (MPM) chief operating officer Datuk Seri Patrick Tiong said MPM’s constant efforts to highlight transhipment issues to the higher authorities at the customs have brought about this new directive.

"We are glad that the transhipment activities have been taken care of accordingly with the new directive from the director-general’s office,” he said, adding that transhipment activities must have the support of the various enforcement agencies.

He said the new SOP and monitoring procedures would benefit players in the transhipment industry in Sabah and Labuan.

"We have briefed Deputy Finance Minister II Steven Sim on the various issues and challenges plaguing maritime industry players when he was in Labuan last month.

"We thank him and customs director-general Datuk Zaduli Johan for taking immediate action,” he said. — Bernama