Enhancing Public Availability of Customs Information
In the Islamic Countries
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month, which is a high volume consistent with the important role played by trade in Malaysia’s
broader economy. The website provides a searchable interface for obtaining information on
applied tariffs. However, there are no fully worked examples of valuation, duty determination,
or origin determination as in the case of Singapore. Such information may be contained in the
site’s User Guide, but the link to that file was broken as at January 26th, 2019. A general
assessment of myTRADLINK suggests that it is comprehensive in terms of being an electronic
Single Window for all trade related processes, but information availability as such is not as
comprehensive as in the case of Singapore, for example. The scope of information dissemination
is not as complete as Singapore, and notably not all relevant information is available in English,
but the scope of information nonetheless contains all key elements, such as regulatory
documents, forms, and applied tariff rates. The method for information dissemination is
primarily electronic. ICTs are used in the form of a website that both contains relevant
information, and provides access to the country’s Single Window. An enquiry point has been
established. Information on formalities must be published prior to entry into force, and the trade
community is involved in discussions with the public sector through the NTFC.
Malaysia Customs has procedures for advance rulings on valuation, classification, and origin.
Indeed, a review of the OECD data suggests that it complies nearly fully with the TFA references
to advance rulings. However, direct information is difficult to obtain, as the relevant section of
the Malaysian customs website on advance rulings is only available in Malay. It is therefore not
possible to provide direct information on the duration of advance rulings, the procedures
governing them, the circumstances under which they can be revoked or amended, and the way
in which they treat confidential information, including publication requirements. However, the
OECD data suggest that Malaysia’s practice is similar in substantive terms to the Singapore
benchmark, so it is likely that this information is well understood within the local trade
community. However, making this information publicly available in an international language
would be a priority for overseas traders looking to access the market, in particular smaller
businesses.
MyTRADELINK was an initiative of the Malaysian government, but is operated by a private
company. As with the other examples examined in this report, it brings together the major
stakeholders in the trade community.
Benefits, Challenges, and Lessons Learned
Malaysia has been strongly influenced by the experience of its close neighbor, Singapore, which
has leveraged strong trade facilitation performance to help support not only trade integration,
but also income growth and development. Malaysia is generally a strong performer in terms of
the key indices examined, but subjectively, the ease of use of its online platform is not developed
to the same level as in Singapore. Nonetheless, the country has made good use of regional
initiatives and the existing knowledge base to ensure that key trade related information is
available online, and is integrated with the ability to process documentation online.
Key lessons fromMalaysia’s experience with public availability of trade information include the
following:
 Regional initiatives, such as ASEAN’s work on trade facilitation and connectivity, can
have a significant effect on national policies by promoting experience sharing and
learning from regional partners.