KUALA LUMPUR, June 27 — The Royal Malaysian Customs Department (Customs) has identified 105 vehicle owners who falsified documents as part of its investigation into undercollected Customs duties for imported vehicles in duty-free islands.

Deputy Finance Minister I Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan said the owners were found to have falsified documents proving residency and fraud related to residence addresses.

"The enforcement team is tracking down and investigating the owners and with enough statements and evidence, criminal and civil action will be taken,” he said during the winding up of the Auditor-General’s Report 2021 Series 2 that was debated by 19 senators in Dewan Negara today.

According to Ahmad, the Customs enforcement team also identified the syndicate acting as the middleman to falsify the documents during the registration process at the islands.

According to the Auditor-General’s Report, there were weaknesses in the Customs duty collection for imported cars in duty-free islands, resulting in RM72.32 million left uncollected for 2021.

"Checks revealed that out of the RM72.32 million, RM146,424.49 was due to inaccurate calculation of excise duties in Labuan that have been re-collected,” he added. — Bernama