Learn from Indonesia, tighten export monitoring to stop under-invoicing, say industry players

Detailed summary

Stricter monitoring of commodity exports is needed to curb under-invoicing, a practice in which exporters declare lower cargo values or quantities ...

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 14 — Stricter monitoring of commodity exports is needed to curb under-invoicing, a practice in which exporters declare lower cargo values or quantities than what they actually ship, potentially causing losses in government revenue, maritime industry players said.

Maritime Network Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Datuk Seri R. Jeyenderan said Indonesia’s move to set up a centralised agency to monitor major commodity exports should remind Malaysia to review how effective its own export monitoring systems are.

It was reported that Indonesia’s Danantara Sumberdaya Indonesia (DSI), operated by sovereign wealth fund Danantara, will initially oversee exports worth about US$60 billion involving coal, palm oil and ferroalloys.

The agency plans to introduce a service fee in the single-digit US dollar range per tonne, with the final rate expected to be announced in December. It is scheduled to begin full operations in January 2027.

The initiative aims to improve monitoring of commodity exports and tackle practices such as under-invoicing, which can allow exporters to avoid paying the full taxes or duties due on their shipments.

Jeyenderan said Malaysia already had various electronic systems and government agencies responsible for monitoring export declarations, permits and supporting documents.

However, he said the bigger challenge was ensuring that information held by different agencies could be properly shared and cross-checked against actual cargo shipments.

“Having digital systems is important, but what matters is whether the information can be cross-checked to ensure that the quantity and value declared in the documents match the actual goods being exported,” he said in a statement.

He said discrepancies between declared values or quantities and actual cargo shipments could affect government revenue, create unfair competition among businesses and undermine confidence in Malaysia’s commodity trade.

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