TRADE WITH AUSTRALIA

• In 2016:

  • Australia was Malaysia’s 13th largest trading partner. Among Oceania countries, Australia was Malaysia’s largest trading partner.

  • total trade with Australia contracted by 7.3% to RM42.35 billion (US$10.20 billion) compared with RM45.67 billion (US$11.75 billion)  in  2015.

  • exports recorded a decrease of 4.8%, to RM26.74 billion (US$6.44 billion)  from RM28.08 billion (US$7.21 billion) in 2015.

  • imports recorded a decrease of 11.3% to RM15.61 billion (US$3.76 billion) from RM17.59 billion (US$4.53 billion)) in 2015.

• Major exports to Australia in 2016:

  • Crude Petroleum

  • Petroleum Products

  • Electrical and electronic products

  • Manufactures of Metal

  • Machinery, equipment & parts

• Major imports from Australia in 2016:

  • Manufactures of metal

  • Other Agricultures (cereals, coffee, fruits, live animal & meat, miscellaneous agricultures, pepper, vegetables, roots, tubers)

  • Metalliferous ores and metal scrap

  • Processed Food

  • Other mining

SCOPE

Areas covered under MAFTA include:

1. Establishment of a Free Trade Area and General Definitions

2. Trade in Goods

3. Rules of Origin

4. Customs Procedures and Cooperation

5. Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures

6. Standards, Technical Regulations and Conformity Assessment Procedures

7. Trade Remedies

8. Trade in Services

9. Telecommunication Services

10. Movement of Natural Persons

11. Framework on Mutual Recognition Arrangements

12. Investment

13. Intellectual Property

14. Competition Policy

15. Electronic Commerce

16. Transparency

17. General Provisions and Exceptions

18. Institutional Provisions

19. Consultations and Dispute Settlement

20. Final Provisions

 

EXPORT-IMPORT PROCEDURES

Exporting to Australia

• If you are exporting to Australia, there is no duty for ALL products. This is because Australia has eliminated import tariffs for ALL products upon entry into force on 1 January 2013 which means the duty for ALL products is 0%.

• Nevertheless, in order for your product to enjoy the preferential duty of 0%, it must fulfill the Rules of Origin (ROO) criteria under MAFTA.

Importing from Australia

• If you are importing from Australia, please click this link to check on the preferential duties under MAFTA:

Tariff Commitments-Malaysia

• Nevertheless, in order for the product to enjoy the preferential duties, it must fulfill the Rules of Origin (ROO) criteria under MAFTA.

• Products listed under Malaysia’s Exclusion List (EL) do not qualify for duty reduction or elimination under MAFTA. The Malaysian importer would need to pay the duty based on the current MFN rate.

RULES OF ORIGIN

• In order to benefit from the preferential tariff rates under MAFTA, exporters need to fulfill the requirements under rules of origin (ROO) which are based on the product specific rules (PSR) as stipulated under Appendix B of the Agreement. You can view the PSR via this link (refer to page 32): Product Specific Rules (PSR)

• Under Annex on Operational Certification Procedures (OCP) to Chapter 3 of the Agreement, the ROO requires that:

  • exports from Australia into Malaysia / Imports from Australia are supported by a declaration of origin (DOO); and

  • exports from Malaysia to Australia / Exports to Australia are supported by a certificate of origin (COO) issued by the Issuing Authority (MITI).

• The importer must submit relevant documents to the Customs Authority of the importing Party (Malaysia or Australia) in order to claim for preferential tariff treatment. Imports into Australia require a COO; while imports into Malaysia require a DOO.

 

Declaration of Origin

The DOO can take the form of a declaration on the invoice or company letterhead (OCP Rule 1).

• The MAFTA does not require a specific format to be used for the DOO on the invoice or company letterhead; provided that the Data Requirements are contained in the document.

• The DOO or COO must contain data requirements as listed in the Appendix on Data Requirements, as follows:

  • name and details of the exporter/producer

  • declaration by the exporter/producer or their authorised representative that the goods are originating

  • description of the goods

  • HS Code (6 digits)

  • origin conferring criteria

  • documentation is valid for one year after the date on which the DOO was signed or the COO was issued (Article 3.15 of the Agreement).

SERVICES

• MAFTA's liberalization of Trade in Services covers:
  • Market Access;
  • Movement of Natural Persons;
  • Mutual Recognition Arrangement;
  • Telecommunication; and
  • Financial Services.

 

• For a summary of both Malaysia's and Australia's offers for Services, please click the following link:

Summary of both Malaysia's and Australia's offers for Services

• For Malaysian Service Providers going to Australia:

Australia's Schedule of Specific Services Commitments

• For Australian Service Providers coming to Malaysia:

Malaysia's Schedule of Specific Services Commitments

• Both countries have also made commitments in the area of Movement of Natural Persons. For Malaysian Service Providers going to Australia:

Australia's Schedule of Movement of Natural Persons Commitments

• For Australian Service Providers coming to Malaysia:

Malaysia's Schedule of Movement of Natural Persons Commitments 

CONTACT US

For Preferential Certificate of Origin / Rules of Origin related matters, please contact:

1. Ms. Norliza Zulkafli
   DL : 03-6208 4740
   Email: norlizaz@miti.gov.my
    
2. Mr. Mohd Azim Taib
   DL : 03-6208 4741
   Email: azim.taib@miti.gov.my

 For other enquiries, please contact the FTA focal point(s) as follows:

1. Ms. Nurul Alia Razani
   DL: 03-6200 0527
   Email: alia.razani@miti.gov.my