Import & Export in Malaysia

Malaysia is a largely open, free-trade economy, but every cross-border shipment passes through a regulated customs process governed by the Customs Act 1967, the Customs Regulations 2019, the Customs Duties Order 2022 and the Customs (Prohibition of Imports/Exports) Order 2023. The system is administered by the Royal Malaysian Customs Department (RMCD / Jabatan Kastam Diraja Malaysia, JKDM) under the Ministry of Finance.

At a high level, trading legally involves five things: a registered Malaysian business entity, a customs registration number, correct HS-code classification of your goods, any permits required by controlling agencies, and an electronic customs declaration (a "K-form") lodged through the national system before goods are released.

Three points trip up first-time traders:

• It is SST, not GST. Malaysia abolished GST in 2018 and reintroduced the Sales and Service Tax. Imported goods attract sales tax at the point of importation, not GST.
• Duty and tax are computed on CIF value (Cost + Insurance + Freight), not the invoice price alone.
• You can self-clear, but most SMEs don't. As the owner of the goods, an importer may lodge and clear its own declaration — self-declaration is permitted. Under Section 90 of the Customs Act 1967, a licence is only required to transact customs business on another party's behalf, which is why most businesses simply appoint a licensed forwarding agent for the system access, customs bond and classification expertise it provides.

The sections below walk through registration, classification, duty and SST calculation, permits, prohibited goods, clearance, and the export side including MATRADE support and duty-relief zones.

Malaysia classifies goods under the ASEAN Harmonised Tariff Nomenclature (AHTN 2022), an 8-digit ASEAN nomenclature aligned to WCO HS 2022, with Malaysia applying additional national subheading digits for some tariff lines. The HS code determines the duty rate, the sales-tax bracket, FTA eligibility and whether permits apply. Getting it right is the single most important compliance step, and RMCD offers a customs ruling / pre-classification service if you are unsure.

Rates are indicative. Confirm the exact HS-code duty in the Customs Duties Order 2022 and the current Sales Tax (Rates of Tax) Order, because the July 2025 expansion reassigned many goods.

Malaysian import duty and import sales tax are calculated on the CIF value — Cost + Insurance + Freight — following the WTO Valuation Agreement (transaction value first), implemented via the Customs (Rules of Valuation) Regulations 1999. If you buy on terms that exclude freight and insurance (e.g. FOB, FCA, EXW), you must add freight and insurance to reach the customs value.

The order of calculation is what catches people out. Sales tax is applied after duty (and any excise) is added to the CIF value, so the tax base is larger than the CIF alone.

Worked example — CIF = RM100,000; import duty 5%; sales tax 10%:

Where excise applies (vehicles, alcohol, tobacco, sugary drinks), it is added before sales tax, enlarging the base further. Total landed cost = CIF + import duty + excise + sales tax + clearance, handling and forwarding fees. Goods with a valid Certificate of Origin (e.g. e-Form D under ATIGA, or preferences under RCEP/CPTPP) may qualify for reduced or 0% duty, which also lowers the sales-tax base.

Malaysia is largely a free-trade regime, so most general goods need no specific import or export licence — but you must be a registered importer, and many regulated categories require approval from an Other Government Agency (OGA) before import. These permits are increasingly integrated into the uCustoms/SMK declaration.

A standard MITI AP is typically valid around 6 months and can be Global (quota/period) or Single-Use (one shipment). Attach the relevant approval to your declaration — clearance stalls if a controlled item arrives without its permit.

The Customs (Prohibition of Imports) Order and Customs (Prohibition of Exports) Order structure controlled goods into schedules. Know which schedule your product sits in before you ship.

• First Schedule — absolutely prohibited. Cannot be imported or exported at all. Examples include certain reproductions of currency, indecent or obscene articles, specified hazardous items, turtle eggs, and certain weapons such as flick knives. Narcotics are prohibited under separate drug laws.
• Second Schedule — prohibited except under licence/permit. Allowed only with approval from the relevant authority (this is where most controlled food, pharmaceuticals, vehicles, telecom and electronic equipment sit).
• Third Schedule — permitted subject to conditions. Allowed only if specified conditions are met (e.g. labelling, certification).
• Fourth Schedule — additional controlled categories.

On the export side, restrictions apply to items such as certain timber, rubber, palm oil, antiquities, rice and strategic goods. Attempting to import or export prohibited or unlicensed restricted goods can lead to seizure, penalties and prosecution under the Customs Act 1967, so verify status against the current Prohibition Orders before booking freight.

Declarations are lodged electronically using the "Customs No." (K-form) series. The core forms are:

• K1 — declaration of goods imported for home consumption (the standard import entry).
• K2 — declaration of goods exported.
• K3 — movement of dutiable goods within the Federation (e.g. Peninsular Malaysia to/from Sabah, Sarawak, or designated/free areas such as Labuan, Langkawi, Tioman, Pangkor).
• K8 — transhipment, transit, re-export, or deposit into a bonded/licensed warehouse.
• K9 — removal of dutiable goods from a bonded warehouse (ex-bond) on payment of duty/tax.

Two systems coexist in 2026. SMK (Sistem Maklumat Kastam) is the long-standing system accessed through the National Single Window operated by Dagang Net (myTRADELINK). uCustoms is RMCD's newer end-to-end platform — trader registration, classification, declaration, permit/OGA integration, duty assessment, e-payment and bond management — being rolled out station by station. Because migration is progressive, check which system your entry point uses; supporting documents are increasingly exchanged via RMCD's MyCIEDS platform.

On submission, entries are routed by a risk-based clearance channel: green (immediate release), yellow (documentary check), or red (physical examination). You then pay duties and taxes and the goods are released.

Whether importing or exporting, assemble your document pack early — a missing certificate is the most common cause of delay.

Core documents

• Commercial invoice and packing list
• Bill of Lading (sea) or Air Waybill (air)
• Customs declaration (K1 import / K2 export)
• Certificate of Origin where preference is claimed — e.g. Form D for ATIGA/ASEAN, Form E for ASEAN-China
• Insurance certificate
• Any permits/APs from the relevant OGA for controlled goods

2026 e-invoicing note: under the phased MyInvois rollout, self-billed e-invoices are now required for foreign acquisitions (imports) — build this into your accounting workflow.

Main gateways: Port Klang (Westports/Northport) and Port of Tanjung Pelepas are the largest sea gateways, with Penang Port and, for airfreight, KLIA. Modes include sea (FCL or LCL), air (fast, high-value/low-weight) and road/rail to Thailand and Singapore.

An owner may clear its own goods, but most SMEs choose not to self-clear. A licensed forwarding agent holds the system access and a customs bond, classifies goods, lodges the K-forms, coordinates OGA permits, arranges any examination and pays duties on your behalf. Crucially, the importer of record remains legally responsible for the accuracy of the declaration and payment of duty — so review what your agent submits.

The export process mirrors imports: register your business and with Customs, classify goods by HS code, obtain any export licence/permit for controlled items, prepare your invoice, packing list, Bill of Lading and Certificate of Origin, and lodge an Export Declaration (Form K2) via uCustoms/SMK. Most exports carry 0% export duty, though a few commodities — notably crude palm oil and certain timber — attract export duty.

MATRADE (Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation, under MITI) is the national export-promotion agency. It offers:

• Exporter registration — access to programmes and, for some product categories, a compliance step.
• Market Development Grant (MDG) — a reimbursable grant subsidising eligible export-promotion costs such as international trade fairs, trade and buyer missions, and market entry. Amounts and caps are set per programme cycle; treat any figure as approximate and check the current MDG guidelines.
• Trade fairs, buyer missions, in-market intelligence, cross-border e-commerce onboarding, and export-readiness advisory (e.g. the "Beginner's Guide to Exporting").

Preferential Certificates of Origin (e.g. Form D for ATIGA, and preferences under RCEP and CPTPP) let your buyers claim reduced duty in the destination market — a genuine competitive edge worth building into pricing.

If you import inputs and re-export, or manufacture mainly for export, several regimes let you avoid or defer import duty and sales tax up front — a major cash-flow advantage.

• Free Zones (Free Zones Act 1990) — split into Free Industrial Zones (FIZ) for manufacturing and Free Commercial Zones (FCZ) for trading, warehousing and distribution. Goods enter with minimal customs formalities and duty/tax is deferred or exempted until they cross into the Principal Customs Area (PCA). Ideal for re-export and value-add-then-export.
• Licensed Manufacturing Warehouse (LMW) — under Section 65/65A of the Customs Act 1967, for export-oriented manufacturers (typically exporting ≥80% of finished-goods value). Grants duty exemption on raw materials, components and machinery used directly in production. Requires an ICA manufacturing licence (or MIDA exemption); apply via Form A to the State Director of Customs, meet the licence conditions and file periodic returns.
• Bonded/licensed warehouses (Section 65) — store dutiable goods with duty suspended until removal into the PCA.

Manufacturers can also obtain sales-tax exemption on raw materials and components under the Sales Tax exemption schedules. These regimes are central to Malaysia's export-manufacturing competitiveness.

The old de minimis rule — where sub-RM500 air parcels came in duty- and tax-free — has been narrowed for e-commerce. Since 1 January 2024, a 10% sales tax applies to imported Low Value Goods valued at RM500 or less that are sold online and brought into Malaysia by air, sea or land.

Who registers: local or foreign online sellers whose total LVG sales into Malaysia exceed RM500,000 in 12 months must register as an LVG-registered seller at mylvg.customs.gov.my, charge the 10% at checkout, and file and pay quarterly to RMCD.

Exclusions: cigarettes, tobacco products, intoxicating liquor and smoking pipes/e-cigarette devices are excluded from LVG (they already face import duty, excise and sales tax through normal channels). These exclusions are carved out of the Low Value Goods definition itself under the LVG framework — the Sales Tax Act 2018 (as amended) and RMCD's LVG Guide — rather than exempted through a separate order.

Practical takeaway: if you dropship or sell cross-border into Malaysia at scale, budget for the 10% and the quarterly compliance. For consignments above RM500, the normal import duty + SST regime applies at customs instead. Shoppers buying from Shopee, Amazon or AliExpress will typically see the 10% collected at checkout on qualifying low-value items.