PETALING JAYA: Card collectors are advised to declare their trading cards before heading overseas to avoid facing action from the authorities, who could potentially impose additional duties and taxes.
The Customs Department said all travellers who enter and leave the country should declare all taxable goods alongside amounts of cash and prohibited goods under the Customs Act and the Customs Regulations 2019.
“If the playing cards are carried by a passenger for the purpose of temporarily leaving the country and are intended to be brought back into Malaysia later, such movement is still regarded as an export activity under Customs regulations and must be declared to the Customs Department before leaving the country.
“This declaration is important to prove that the goods originated from Malaysia or were already in the country before being taken abroad. The declaration serves as an official Customs record confirming that the goods were only taken out of the country temporarily, thereby helping to prevent the passenger from being charged duties or taxes when bringing the goods back into Malaysia,” the department said in a written response to The Star.
According to the Customs Duties Order 2025, trading cards fall into the “playing cards” listing under tariff code 9504 40 0000, with excise duties imposed for items exceeding RM1,000.
“If the cards are brought into the country by a traveller and are believed to have been purchased while the traveller was overseas, and the value of the trading cards exceeds the exemption amount granted to travellers under the Customs Duties (Exemption) Order 2017, then an ad valorem (according to value) duty of 10% will be imposed,” it said.
The department also urged card collectors and flippers to have the relevant supporting documents, such as invoices, to facilitate duty assessment calculations.
On complaints of collectors bringing in large quantities of cards into the country without a declaration to later sell them, the department said continuous enforcement and monitoring are conducted to spot such incidents.
“In principle, any goods brought in by individuals through passenger channels but possessing commercial characteristics such as being in large quantities, having a high value, with packaging intended for resale or other circumstances that give rise to reasonable suspicion that the goods are imported for trade purposes, cannot be considered personal-use items belonging to a traveller.
“Under such circumstances, the goods must be formally declared to Customs and will be subject to assessment for applicable import duties and sales taxes,” it said.
