Section 16
Substitution of section 33
of Free Zones (Amendment) Act 2019
The principal Act is amended by substituting for section 33 the following section:
"Compounding of offences
Quoted provision
Section 33
Any senior officer of customs may, with the written consent of the Public Prosecutor, compound any offence committed by any person under this Act and prescribed by the Minister to be a compoundable offence by making a written offer to the person suspected of committing the offence to compound the offence on payment to the Director General of an amount of money not exceeding fifty per centum of the amount of the maximum fine for that offence within the time specified in the offer.
(2)
An offer under subsection (1) may be made at any time after the offence has been committed, but before any prosecution for it has been instituted, and if the amount specified in the offer is not paid within the time specified in the offer or within any extended period as the Director General may grant, prosecution for the offence may be instituted at any time after that against the person to whom the offer was made.
(3)
Where an offence has been compounded under subsection (1), no prosecution shall after that be instituted in respect of the offence against the person to whom the offer to compound was made.
(4)
Upon payment of such compound under subsection (1), any property seized shall be released and no further proceedings shall be taken against such property except that if the property seized consists of goods the import of which into Malaysia is absolutely or conditionally prohibited under any written law and no import licence has been issued, such goods or the amount secured under paragraph 27(1)(a) or (b) or the amount realized by sale under paragraph 27(1)(c), as the case may be, shall be forfeited.
(5)
All sums of money received by the Director General under this section shall be paid into and form part of the Federal Consolidated Fund.".