# RMCD — Royal Malaysian Customs Department: The Other Half of Malaysia's Tax System

> Agency entity page for Jabatan Kastam Diraja Malaysia — what it administers, how its remit splits from LHDN's, the statutes behind each duty and levy, and the portals where the rules actually live.

- Category: government
- Language: en
- Status: published
- Updated: 2026-07-24
- Canonical: https://negaraku.md/en/government/rmcd-kastam

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Two agencies, one ministry, and a line that almost nobody draws correctly on the
first try. If the tax attaches to a **thing crossing a border, a good leaving a
factory, or a service being supplied**, it is Kastam. If it attaches to **income,
a gain, or a document**, it is LHDN.

## At a glance

| | |
| --- | --- |
| Full name | Jabatan Kastam Diraja Malaysia / Royal Malaysian Customs Department |
| Type | Federal government department |
| Reports to | Ministry of Finance — listed under the ministry's departments, not its agencies |
| Headed by | Director General of Customs |
| Headquarters | No. 3, Persiaran Perdana, Presint 2, 62596 Putrajaya |
| Divisions | Customs, Internal Tax, Enforcement, Compliance Management, Technical Services and Legal, among others |
| Training arm | Akademi Kastam Diraja Malaysia (AKMAL) |
| Website | `customs.gov.my` |

## What it administers

| Statute | Subject |
| --- | --- |
| Customs Act 1967 (Act 235) | Import and export duty, declarations, valuation, seizure and prosecution at the border |
| Excise Act 1976 (Act 176) | Excise duty and licensing — motor vehicles, liquor, tobacco and other excisable goods |
| Sales Tax Act 2018 (Act 806) | Single-stage sales tax on taxable goods manufactured in Malaysia, and on imports |
| Service Tax Act 2018 (Act 807) | Single-stage service tax on prescribed taxable services |
| Free Zones Act 1990 (Act 438) | Free commercial and free industrial zones |
| Tourism Tax Act 2017 (Act 791) | Tourism tax on accommodation |
| Departure Levy Act 2019 (Act 813) | Levy on departure from Malaysia by air |
| Windfall Profit Levy Act 1998 (Act 592) | Levy on windfall profits from prescribed commodities |

Sales tax and service tax both commenced on **1 September 2018**, replacing GST.
They are two separate Acts with separate registration tests — see
[SST explained](/en/taxation/sst-explained).

## The split with LHDN, in one table

Both sit under the Ministry of Finance. That is where the similarity stops.

| Your question | Who answers it |
| --- | --- |
| Tax on my company's profit | [LHDN](/en/government/lhdn) |
| Service tax on the invoice I issue | RMCD |
| Import duty on a shipment | RMCD |
| Withholding tax on a foreign vendor | LHDN |
| Stamp duty on a tenancy agreement | LHDN |
| Excise duty on a car | RMCD |
| Real property gains tax on a shophouse sale | LHDN |
| Tourism tax charged by a hotel | RMCD |
| Departure levy on an air ticket | RMCD |
| e-Invoice submission | LHDN |

There is a structural difference underneath the functional one. **RMCD is a
department** — part of the federal public service, headed by a Director General.
**LHDN is a statutory body** created by its own Act. The Ministry of Finance
lists Kastam under *departments* and LHDN under *agencies*, and that
classification is the cleanest way to keep them apart.

## Portals it runs

- **MySST** — registration, returns and payment for sales tax and service tax,
  plus the gazetted Orders, regulations and policy statements.
- **ezHS (JKDM HS Explorer)** — tariff lookup by HS code or description, covering
  the current Customs Duties Order and the preferential schedules of Malaysia's
  free trade agreements (ATIGA, ACFTA, AANZFTA, RCEP and others).
- **MyTTx** — the Malaysian Tourism Tax System.
- **MyDLV** — departure levy declarations.
- **Tax stamp system (TMS)** — tax stamps on excisable goods.
- **MNTR** — the Malaysia National Trade Repository, for trade measures and
  procedures.

## Two things that catch people out

**Rates are gazetted, not published.** A duty rate is set by a Customs Duties
Order and a service tax rate by a Rate of Tax Order. Guidance notes and FAQ pages
on the portals are commentary; the P.U.(A) instrument is the law. When they
disagree, the gazette wins.

**Enforcement and assessment are the same agency.** The officer clearing your
consignment and the officer auditing your SST-02 return work for one department,
under statutes that carry seizure and prosecution powers. That is unlike the
direct-tax side, where assessment and enforcement follow a civil-recovery model.

## Where the practical rules live

| Topic | Article |
| --- | --- |
| Which SST applies to you | [SST explained](/en/taxation/sst-explained) |
| Sales tax mechanics | [Sales tax explained](/en/taxation/sales-tax-explained) |
| Registering | [SST registration](/en/taxation/sst-registration) |
| Filing the return | [SST-02 filing](/en/taxation/sst-02-filing) |
| Rates and thresholds by group | [SST rate table](/en/taxation/sst-rate-table) |
| The 2025 widening | [SST expansion 2025](/en/taxation/sst-expansion-2025) |
| Services bought from abroad | [Imported taxable services](/en/taxation/imported-taxable-services) |
| Trade remedy duties | [Anti-dumping and countervailing duties](/en/business/anti-dumping-countervailing-duties) |
| The direct-tax counterpart | [LHDN](/en/government/lhdn) |

## What's next

Work out which side of the line your obligation falls on before you go looking
for a form. If it is a Kastam matter, start at
[SST explained](/en/taxation/sst-explained) for services and goods you supply, or
at ezHS for anything you import. If it is an income, gains or instrument
question, go to [LHDN](/en/government/lhdn) instead.

## Sources

- Jabatan & Agensi — Kementerian Kewangan Malaysia — https://www.mof.gov.my/portal/ms/profil/jabatan-agensi (Ministry of Finance Malaysia)
- Organization Structure — Royal Malaysian Customs Department — https://www.customs.gov.my/en/corporate/organization-structure (Royal Malaysian Customs Department)
- MySST Portal — https://mysst.customs.gov.my/ (Royal Malaysian Customs Department)
- JKDM HS Explorer (ezHS) — https://ezhs.customs.gov.my/ (Royal Malaysian Customs Department)
- Act 235 — Customs Act 1967 — https://lom.agc.gov.my/act-detail.php?act=235 (Attorney General's Chambers of Malaysia)
- Act 176 — Excise Act 1976 — https://lom.agc.gov.my/act-detail.php?act=176 (Attorney General's Chambers of Malaysia)
- Act 806 — Sales Tax Act 2018 — https://lom.agc.gov.my/act-detail.php?act=806 (Attorney General's Chambers of Malaysia)
- Act 807 — Service Tax Act 2018 — https://lom.agc.gov.my/act-detail.php?act=807 (Attorney General's Chambers of Malaysia)
- Act 438 — Free Zones Act 1990 — https://lom.agc.gov.my/act-detail.php?act=438 (Attorney General's Chambers of Malaysia)
- Act 791 — Tourism Tax Act 2017 — https://lom.agc.gov.my/act-detail.php?act=791 (Attorney General's Chambers of Malaysia)
- Act 813 — Departure Levy Act 2019 — https://lom.agc.gov.my/act-detail.php?act=813 (Attorney General's Chambers of Malaysia)
- Act 592 — Windfall Profit Levy Act 1998 — https://lom.agc.gov.my/act-detail.php?act=592 (Attorney General's Chambers of Malaysia)

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License: CC BY-SA 4.0