PETALING JAYA: Only passengers who have dutiable or prohibited goods, as well as those carrying cash or bearer negotiable instruments (BNI) that exceed a certain amount, need to fill up the customs declaration form at our airports, says the Customs Department.
A Customs spokesperson said that passengers who do not have any of these items can go directly to the Customs Green Lane, which is for people who have nothing to declare, without having to fill out a form to give to a Customs officer.
The department said the K7 form was introduced on Sept 1, 2020, and is a simplified version of another document known as Form 22.
It was previously learnt that travellers were required to fill out several forms for dutiable items and currency declarations. However, the newly-introduced K7 form will cater to all declarations.
“The K7/K22 form is for currency and BNI declaration by passengers who pass through air, land and marine,” it said in a statement, adding that passengers who wish to declare their belongings can obtain the K7 form at the customs counter.
Last week, stakeholders in the travel and tourism industry reacted negatively to what they thought was an all-encompassing ruling by the customs that every air traveller has to fill in Form K7 upon landing in Malaysia.
Travel industry players said the move to make every single airline passenger fill in K7 is a regressive one, as it inconveniences travellers at checkpoints, other than causing congestion at these points of entry.
The operators said establishing a clear directive on who was subject to filling out the form, along with which items were dutiable, would minimise confusion, especially among leisure travellers, in order to create a seamless and positive travel experience.
The uproar came following an official request by the Customs Dept on Sept 5 for various airlines flying into Malaysia to announce to their passengers the need to declare dutiable items as well as cash or BNI that exceed US$10,000.
“The use of Form 7 or Form 22 is more focused on declaring currency and BNI carried with the passengers or in their luggage,” said the statement, which did not explain why only those who use air travel were targeted, or why it had chosen to come up with this announcement at this juncture.
“It (the announcement in aircraft) serves as an early notification to passengers who are arriving in Malaysia as well as to ensure compliance with the new legislation,” the statement read.
When contacted, a spokesman from Batik Air said the airline is not obligated to provide Form K7 in the cabin. It was only required to announce the matter to passengers.
More information on what is dutiable as well as prohibited can be found at www.customs.gov.my/en/tp/Pages/tp_ppel.aspx.
