LABUAN: Labuan alcoholic drinks importers are appealing to the Ministry of Finance (MoF) for a review of the soon-to-be-enforced ruling of duty-free stamps on alcoholic drinks prior to arrival to the duty-free island here.
A representative of nine importers, Arthur Kong, said a petition letter (dated March 2) had been forwarded to the Minister of Finance to abolish the ruling, describing it as additional financial burden to the importers.
The new Royal Malaysian Customs Department’s ruling to take effect on April 1, 2021, directing all importers of alcoholic drinks to purchase (in advance) the duty-free stamps from the department and send to their respective suppliers abroad for stamping on each can or bottle prior arrival to Labuan.
“Prior to the ruling Labuan importers only purchase the duty-free stamps from the department upon clearance and the stamping is to be done in the importers’ warehouse here, before distribution to the duty-free shops on the island,” he said today.
Kong said the ruling (if enforced) would have an impact on the importers’ reputation to the main manufacturers from all over the world, especially in Europe who are taking care of their beverages’ packaging, quality and brand.
“Stamping and labelling by the suppliers abroad that involve unboxing will affect the packaging and may affect the quality of the products and that will lead to the legal action by the brand owners on the importers,” he said.
Kong said the stamping could not be done by the suppliers abroad due to the absence of specific warehouse for stamping purposes, upon receiving the imported alcoholic beverages from the manufacturers.
“It will be costlier for local importers to lease bonded warehouse in Europe for storage of our imported alcoholic drinks and hire workers there to stamp each of the cans and bottles,” he said.
Kong said the importers are set to incur additional cost of 10 fold if the new ruling is enforced next month due to the high cost of warehouse rental and labour for stamping in Europe.
The Labuan’s nine importers are Rakyat Distributor Sdn Bhd, Ee Yun Import Export Sdn Bhd, Heng Huat Sdn Bhd, Harrisons Sabah Sdn Bhd, Lautan Mas Jaya Sdn Bhd, Tee & Chua Sdn Bhd, Suanco Jaya, Billion Nova Sdn Bhd and LB Multi Supply Sdn Bhd.
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