KUALA LUMPUR: The International Trade and Industry Ministry (MITI) has been advised to set performance indicators for the Open Approved Permit for Motor Vehicles (APTK) policy to ensure a comprehensive assessment of whether the policy has achieved its objectives.

       According to the Auditor General’s Report 2019 Series 2, MITI needs to ensure that all of the agencies that are members of the action committee to address the misuse of Approved Permits (AP) are performing their respective roles effectively.

       It said enforcement activities should also be strengthened to increase the APTK companies’ compliance with the rules and guidelines.

       "The Audit team was informed that action has been taken against companies that had not complied with the guidelines.

       "However, there was no maintenance of the registration to record the offences committed and the action taken against the company,” it said.

       Furthermore, the report revealed that the details of the enforcement actions taken could only be checked through the minutes of the Import License Administration Committee meeting.

       "As such, the total number of companies subjected to actions for the period of 2017 to 2019 cannot be confirmed,” it said.

       Among other things, the APTK policy aims to empower the Bumiputera economic agenda and provide equal opportunities for Bumiputera entrepreneurs to get involved in the automotive sector, as well as to give the people more opportunities to purchase imported cars at competitive prices.

       The report also advised the Royal Malaysian Customs Department (RMCD) to set up a monitoring mechanism through the system to ensure a more effective collection of tax revenue and import duties.

       Overall, for the 2017-2020 period, the total under-collection of tax queried by the Verification and Profiling Branch, RMCD Kuala Lumpur and Selangor was worth RM30.33 million, involving 661 queries.

       Of the RM30.33 million, only RM12.08 million (39.8 per cent) had been collected as of Dec 31, 2020.

       The Auditor General's Report also recommended the establishment of an integrated information system between MITI and RMCD to ensure that control and monitoring of the use of APTK can be implemented effectively. - Bernama