LABUAN: The Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chairman Datuk Dahlif Singh commended Customs for its projection of a lucrative collection of RM56 billion in revenue national-wide, saying with such a target any loss due to the sale of cigarettes tax-free should be considered a “trivial matter” and the island’s full duty-free status restored.
The duty-free status on cigarettes was withdrawn in 2021 by the previous Perikatan Nasional government.
“Labuan is a small island. There will be no substantial revenue loss for Customs if the privilege is returned, scrapping the privilege has, on the other hand, negatively impacted the economy.
How much would Customs stand to lose if tax-free cigarettes were allowed again in Labuan?” asked Dahlif.
