This comes after much outcry from the public to stop handing out APs
Well guys, it is official, on 23 September 2022, the Ministry of International Trade And Industry (MITI) has confirmed that Open Approved Permit (AP) Fees for cars of RM20,000 will continue to be charged for the 35,001 AP and up until their online portal is fully functional. The details of their official release are translated below:-
Implementation of Open AP Fee At A Rate Of RM20,000 For 35,001 AP And Above
With reference to the above.
2. As you already know, an Open AP fee (on cars) has been in effect since 2010 under Customs Law (Motor Vehicle Import License Fee) (amended) 2016 under the Customs Act 1967. This law states that:
(i) Open AP Companies will be charged a fee of up to RM10,000 for every vehicular unit imported from 1 January 2010. The company is allowed to pay the fee in installments up to 2 times (RM5,000 per installment) and
(ii) A fee of RM20,000 will be charged for the 35,001 Open AP onwards.
3. Based on the current standings, the performance of the use of provisions of Open AP (cars) for the year of 2022 (as of 23 September 2022) has reached 33,299 AP units. This number is expected to rise to 35,000 units in the near future. As written in the Customs Law (Motor Vehicle Import License Fee) (amended) 2016 under the Customs Act 1967, the AP for the 35,001 car will begin to be charged a fee of up to RM20,000.
4. The ministry has examined this and agreed to the suggestion of PEKEMA which was submitted on 15 September 2022. The suggestion was presented to the Ministry of Finance (MOF) to consider temporarily suspending the implementation of Open AP Fees up to RM20,000 per vehicle unit for 2022. However, until a decision is made by MOF, all Open AP companies will still have to pay their Open AP Fees of up to RM20,000 per vehicular unit after the AP is issued via the e-Permit System achieving 35,000 AP units.
5. For the record, the e-Permit System is still being improved to ensure the process of paying fees runs smoothly at this new rate. In conjunction with that, MITI has decided that until the improvement process for the e-Permit System is complete, all companies involved must pay their fees based on the currently available payment methods that have been utilized thus far. Involved companies will be informed about the processes and procedures of paying the remaining fees through the e-Permit System at the new rate (RM20,000 per unit) after the e-Permit System is fully operational to process these fee payments at the new rate.
6. To ensure the process of paying these fees during this transitional period runs smoothly, involved companies are asked to take note of and implement the following:
(i) The company is asked to keep an eye out for MITI notifications from time to time under the ‘PIA Remark’ item on the e-Permit System display screen for every transaction that is approved by the e-Permit System;
(ii) Said MITI notifications will state that the approved AP is numbered 35,001 and up and that the company is subject to pay the fee at the new rate. This notification can also be used as a reference by the company to settle any outstanding fees after the e-Permit System is fully operational to process the payment fees at the new rate and
(iii) After the e-Permit System is fully operational and can process fees at the new rate:
a. Companies that still possess outstanding fees at the new fee rate will be officially informed via a letter from MITI; and
b. All outstanding fees must be paid before 31 December 2022. Failure to pay any outstanding fees will disrupt AP provision distribution for 2023, action taken against the company can include facing punishments or penalties under Article 3 (3) under Customs Law (Motor Vehicle Import License Fee) (amended) 2016 under the Customs Act 1967 will face legal action in a court of law.
So essentially, we can conclude that MOF is indeed considering the suspension of AP fees but they have yet to decide on it and in the meantime, payment will resume on all APs under the new rate so if you or your company has any outstanding AP fee payments, now is the time to get it checked out and if possible, paid.
