Customs director-general Anis Rizana Zainudin said the amount exceeded the finance ministry’s initial target of RM56 billion as well as the revised target of RM61.17 billion set on Oct 18, reported Bernama.

The department collected revenue of RM55.1 billion in 2023, surpassing its target by 3%.

At a press conference in Putrajaya today, Anis Rizana said her department had also successfully thwarted 6,708 cases of attempted smuggling or tax/duty evasion as of yesterday.

“These cases involved the seizure of various types of goods worth RM1.532 billion,” she said, adding that this marked a 73% increase compared with the same period in 2023.

Anis Rizana said this was a result of technological advances such as digitalisation in customs transactions and the use of scanning machines with artificial intelligence features.

She said vehicles, drugs, cigarettes, liquor and textiles made up the highest value of seizures this year.