Members of the public are allowed to store liquor at home for their personal consumption without a licence as long as the duty for the alcoholic beverages has been paid, says the customs department.
The department said people are not required to keep a record if they purchase duty-paid liquor for their own consumption from licensed outlets, Bernama reported.
It said the requirement to keep such records for seven years only applies to licence holders, importers, and exporters.
“In terms of liquor stored for personal consumption, there is no limit on the number of bottles specified under the customs department’s administrative law,” it was quoted as saying.
It nonetheless said that it seized RM1.42 million in non-duty-paid bottles of liquor from January to July this year after raiding homes across the country.
It said there were a total of 55 such cases, involving an estimated tax of RM4.02 million.
“There have been cases of people storing liquor at home for business purposes. Investigations by the department confirmed that the duty or tax on the liquor had not been paid,” the department said.
It also denied taking arbitrary action, saying its moves were based on the Excise Act 1976 and Customs Act 1967 following public complaints and intelligence work.
Customs department assistant director V Kamalhasan had said that any premises used for storing liquor must be licensed, and that collections of up to 30 or 40 bottles at home – often built up over years through special festival editions – are technically not permitted without a licence.
This drew criticism from tourism, arts and culture minister Tiong King Sing, who said the official had misled the public as the Excise Act 1976 gave people the right to store alcohol for personal consumption at home.
Deputy finance minister Lim Hui Ying also said that no licence was required to keep duty-paid liquor at home as long as it was purchased from licensed outlets and kept for personal consumption or collection, not for sale.
