K1 Form Malaysia: The 54 Boxes and Which Papers Fill Them
Updated: 19 hours ago
The K1 form Malaysia uses for imports (Borang Kastam No. 1, or Customs No. 1) is the Royal Malaysian Customs Department's "Declaration of Goods Imported". The importer or an appointed agent fills in its 54 numbered boxes, and almost every answer comes from papers that already exist: the invoice, packing list, bill of lading or consignment note, permit and proof of origin.
So when your Malaysian buyer says "our agent will file the K1", what the agent needs from you is that set of papers, and they need to agree with each other.
This guide reads the K1 backwards. It starts from each box and names the document that feeds it, so the Singapore seller knows what to send and the Malaysian buyer knows what to check before the agent submits.
In short, most K1 problems are fixed before the goods move. The fix is to make the invoice, packing list, transport document and origin proof agree with each other.
What is the K1 form in Malaysia?
The K1 is Malaysia's import declaration. RMCD's official form states that the declaration is required under the Customs Act 1967, the Excise Act 1976 and the Sales Tax Act 2018.
Since 1 January 2023, customs forms have been set by the Director General under Ketetapan Umum Bil. 1/2022. That ruling lists the K1 as the declaration for dutiable goods under section 78 of the Customs Act, section 40D of the Excise Act and section 8 of the Sales Tax Act. It also uses the K1 for non-dutiable goods arriving by sea or air (section 81), by rail (section 82) and by road (section 83).
So a K1 isn't only for goods that pay duty. Duty-free goods are declared too.
That ruling also sets out the other form numbers you'll hear alongside it:
K1: import declaration, for goods entering Malaysia.
K2: export declaration, for goods leaving Malaysia. IFG covers it in a separate guide to the K2 export declaration.
K3: moving duty-paid or tax-paid goods from one territory of Malaysia to another.
K8: transhipment, or goods in transit.
Who files the K1, and where is it filed today?
Importers file it themselves or through an agent. Section 78(1) of the Customs Act 1967 lets the importer of dutiable goods declare "personally or by his agent", and condition 2 on the form says the importer or appointed agent fills in items 1 to 54.
Under section 90, an agent acting for an importer must produce written authority from that importer. That section also asks agents for a course, an exam and security.
A Singapore seller doesn't file the K1. Your part, as the seller, is the paperwork the K1 is built from. That split matters, because condition 5 on the form puts the legal responsibility for every entry, and for the papers attached, on the importer or the appointed agent. If the seller's invoice is wrong, it's the buyer's declaration that carries the error.
Condition 4 adds a practical point: the goods stay under customs control until the proper officer approves them. A submitted K1 is a request, not a release. Customs decides.
SMK, MyCIEDS and the "uCustoms" question
Some guides still say the K1 is filed in "uCustoms". RMCD's own MyCIEDS page describes customs forms as declared through the Sistem Maklumat Kastam (SMK), with MyCIEDS as the place supporting documents go after the declaration.
RMCD's MyCIEDS FAQ gives five upload slots: the invoice, the packing list, any certificate of origin, exemption letters, and an "other" slot. Companies with Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) status don't need to upload supporting documents there, and permits issued on the NSW e-permit platform aren't uploaded again.
An outside agent isn't always needed. The Act lets importers declare personally, so using an agent is a choice. This guide is for freight shipments, where the importer or a forwarder's agent prepares the K1.
What does each box on the K1 ask for?
RMCD's official form (the December 2022 layout) has 54 numbered items. Box 11 is for the customs officer. The importer or agent fills the rest. This table groups the boxes by the document that supplies the answer.
Its last column lists only problems an official source ties to that box. A dash means no such rule turned up, not that mistakes there are harmless.
K1 boxes | What they ask | Which document fills it | What can hold the goods |
1–3 | Consignor or exporter; consignee or importer, with importer code and sales tax registration number; authorised agent, with agent code | Commercial invoice for the parties; the importer's and agent's own registrations | The agent must hold written authority from the importer (Customs Act s.90) |
4, 6–9 | Mode of transport; vessel, flight or conveyance; port or place of import; port of loading; "via" for transhipment cargo | Bill of lading (sea) or consignment note (road) | — |
5 | Import date | Transport document and the actual arrival | For road cargo, you declare when the lorry reaches the place of import (s.78(1); s.83) |
10, 15 | Manifest registration number and page | The carrier's manifest | — |
11 | Receipt of duty or tax authorised by | Customs officer only | — |
12–13 | Import permit number and expiry date | Permit from the controlling agency | If the goods need a permit, it must be attached (form condition 3(a)) |
14 | Country that payment for the goods is made to | Commercial invoice | — |
16 | Exemption approval reference | The exemption letter, if one applies | — |
17 | Bill of lading or consignment note number | Bill of lading (sea) or consignment note (road) | A house bill of lading must go in with the master bill (form condition 3(b)) |
18 | Special treatment | Confirm the content with your agent | — |
19–22, 25 | Insurance, other charges, CIF value, freight, FOB value | Commercial invoice, freight bill and insurance certificate | — |
23–24, 26, 28 | Gross weight, measurement, marks and numbers or container number, number and type of packages | Packing list, plus the bill of lading for container numbers | Packages and weight must be a full and true account (s.79(1)) |
27, 29, 32 | Item number, description of goods, invoice number | Commercial invoice | The description must be a full and true account (s.79(1)) |
30–31 | Malaysian customs tariff code and unit | HS classification by the importer or agent | — |
33 | Country of origin code | Certificate of origin, or the invoice where no preference is claimed | Origin proof must agree with the K1, invoice and bill of lading (RMCD rules of origin FAQ) |
34–36 | Quantity in the tariff unit, value per unit, total value | Commercial invoice and packing list | Quantity and value must be a full and true account (s.79(1)) |
37–40 | Import duty and excise duty, rate and amount | Customs tariff, worked by the importer or agent | If origin is under verification, release follows payment of duty at the most-favoured-nation (MFN) rate (RMCD rules of origin FAQ) |
41–45 | Sales tax rate and amount; any other tax | Sales Tax (Rate of Tax) Order 2025 | — |
46–50 | Totals | Worked from the boxes above | — |
51–54 | Declarant's name, IC or passport number, designation, and the "true and complete" certification | The importer or agent who signs | The importer or agent is liable for every entry (form condition 5); an untrue declaration is an offence (s.133) |
Two notes. On screen, SMK may label or order fields differently from the paper layout, so treat box numbers as a guide to content. And the document column is IFG's practitioner reading of the form, not an RMCD statement.
Box 18, "Special treatment", is the one to leave to your agent. None of the RMCD sources checked for this guide say which code or document belongs there, so confirm its content with your agent rather than guess a code.
Boxes 30–31 drive the duty and sales tax lines, so a vague invoice description causes trouble twice. See IFG's HS code classification guide.
Which documents feed the K1, and which mismatches hold cargo?
Five papers do nearly all the work:
Commercial invoice: parties, description, quantity and values.
Packing list: packages, gross weight, measurement and marks.
Bill of lading or consignment note: mode, conveyance, ports and the transport reference.
Proof of origin: country of origin and any preferential duty claim.
Permit from another agency, if the goods need one.
Trouble starts when two papers disagree or one is missing. These are the cases an official source names.
A house bill without its master
Condition 3(b) on the form says a house bill of lading must be submitted together with the master bill of lading, and the same applies to air waybills. On consolidated sea cargo the buyer's agent needs both, so ask the forwarder for the master bill number early.
A permit that isn't attached
Condition 3(a) asks for any permit, permission or approval from another agency to be attached where the goods need one. Boxes 12 and 13 take its number and expiry date. If nobody has checked whether the goods are controlled, find out before they ship, not at the border.
Origin that doesn't match
RMCD's rules of origin FAQ tells importers to make sure the information in the proof of origin is consistent with the import declaration and with supporting documents such as the invoice and bill of lading. A product description on the Form D that reads differently from the invoice is the kind of gap that clause is about.
Freight missing from the invoice
Box 22 asks for freight and box 21 for the CIF value. If the invoice says nothing about freight, those figures have to come from somewhere else, so put the freight charge on your invoice.
A safe habit: state freight and insurance on the invoice when the seller pays them, or send the freight bill with the other papers.
Any figure that isn't "full and true"
Section 79(1) of the Customs Act asks for a "full and true account" of the shipment: how many packages and what kind, what the goods are, their weight or quantity, their value and where they were made. Section 133(1)(a) makes it an offence to sign a declaration that is "untrue or incorrect in any particular".
IFG's position is plain: fix the K1 on paper before the lorry leaves. Goods can't leave customs control until the officer approves, so any correction made at the border is made while the cargo waits. If it has already happened, IFG's guide to cargo held at Malaysian customs walks through the usual causes.
How does Form D change the K1?
Shipping from Singapore doesn't mean zero duty by itself. A Singapore address on the invoice says where the seller is, not where the goods were made. To claim a preferential rate, RMCD's FAQ asks for the K1 together with a proof of origin and the supporting invoice, bill of lading and packing list. Under ATIGA, the proof of origin is a Form D, a Declaration of Origin by a Certified Exporter, or an e-Form D.
Singapore Customs says all ASEAN Member States have fully transmitted electronic Form D since 1 January 2024, and that the importing customs may reject a hardcopy Form D.
Two more points from the RMCD FAQ change how a seller should plan:
If customs is checking the proof of origin, the goods can be released once duty at the MFN rate is paid. A bank guarantee may cover the difference between the MFN and preferential rates.
If the proof of origin is produced after import, the FAQ allows a refund of import duty only under CPTPP, RCEP, MCFTA and MNZFTA. ATIGA isn't on that list, so a Form D that turns up after release can't be used to claim back duty that way.
In practice, if the buyer is counting on the ATIGA rate, the Form D has to exist, and agree with the invoice, before the K1 goes in. IFG's guide to ATIGA Form D covers the application side.
What should a Singapore seller send before the goods move?
Send the buyer, or the buyer's agent, one set of papers that agree with each other:
A commercial invoice with the importer's exact name and address, a description specific enough to classify, quantity, unit and total value, and freight and insurance where the seller pays them.
A packing list with the number and type of packages, gross weight, measurement, and marks and container numbers.
The transport document: the consignment note for road, or the bill of lading for sea, with the master bill as well as the house bill on consolidated cargo.
Proof of origin if the buyer is claiming a preferential rate, issued before shipment and matching the invoice description.
Permit details if the goods are controlled. Ask the buyer which agency applies before the goods are packed.
A last read across all of them: description, quantity, weight, value and origin should say the same thing on every page.
For goods going by lorry, IFG's guide to the trucking lane from Singapore to Malaysia covers the road side of the move. For an overview of modes, see IFG's guide to shipping from Singapore to Malaysia.
Send the papers to IFG before the goods move
Send the commercial invoice, packing list and transport document to IFG on WhatsApp or email IFG before the goods move. IFG checks the papers against each other and replies with what is missing.
Customs still decides on the declaration. IFG's check is about your papers telling one story. You can also reach IFG through the contact page.
K1 form Malaysia: common questions
Can the Malaysian buyer file the K1 personally?
Yes, the law allows it. Section 78(1) of the Customs Act lets the importer declare "personally or by his agent", and the form says the importer or appointed agent completes items 1 to 54. If an agent files, the agent must hold written authority from the importer under section 90. Either way, whoever signs is liable for the information in the form.
Where can I see a K1 form Malaysia sample?
RMCD publishes the official blank form as a PDF: Customs No. 1, "Declaration of Goods Imported", linked from Ketetapan Umum Bil. 1/2022.
It's the December 2022 layout, with the conditions printed on the form. Filing screens may arrange fields differently, so use the PDF to learn what each box asks.
How is sales tax charged on goods declared on a K1?
If the goods are taxable, the importer pays their sales tax through the K1 itself. RMCD's 2025 sales tax FAQ says imported goods take the rate in force when they are released from customs control. Rates are 5% or specific rates under the Sales Tax (Rate of Tax) Order 2025, and goods not listed in the orders are taxed at 10%.
Is a copy of the K1 proof that customs has released the goods?
No. A K1 is the importer's declaration. Condition 4 on the form keeps the goods under customs control until the proper officer approves them, and box 11 is reserved for the officer. Ask your agent for the release approval itself rather than relying on a copy of the declaration.
Customs forms, systems and rates change. This K1 form Malaysia guide reflects RMCD's published form and FAQs as checked on 19 October 2026. Confirm the current requirement with RMCD or your appointed agent before you ship.
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