Malaysia's Low-Value Goods (LVG) sales tax is a 10% tax on imported goods sold online for RM500 or less, in force since 1 January 2024. Registered overseas and local online sellers charge it at checkout, so the price you pay already includes the tax before the parcel reaches you.
Last updated: 11 June 2026
Before 2024, a phone case bought from an overseas marketplace and flown in by courier often arrived tax-free, while the same item imported in bulk through Port Klang paid full duty and sales tax. The Low-Value Goods (LVG) sales tax closed that gap.
What is the Low-Value Goods (LVG) sales tax in Malaysia?
The LVG sales tax is a 10% sales tax on goods sold at a price not exceeding RM500 that are brought into Malaysia by land, sea or air — typically online purchases shipped from overseas. It is charged by the registered seller at the point of sale, not at the border, and took effect on 1 January 2024.
Goods valued at RM500 or less imported into Malaysia are charged a sales tax of 10%, with charging effective 1 January 2024, according to the Ministry of Finance Malaysia. It was introduced under the Sales Tax (Amendment) Act 2022 — which amends the parent Sales Tax Act 2018 — to level the playing field between cheap imported parcels and locally bought goods that already carried sales tax. Items purchased before the 1 January 2024 implementation date are not charged the LVG tax even if they arrive afterwards, as RinggitPlus notes from the RMCD announcement.
What counts as "low-value goods" — and what is excluded?
Low-value goods are any goods sold for RM500 or less and brought into Malaysia by land, sea or air. The RM500 is the seller's selling price of the goods, not including freight or insurance. Cigarettes, tobacco products, intoxicating liquors, smoking pipes, electronic cigarettes and vaping preparations are excluded — they already carry their own duties.
The Royal Malaysian Customs Department (RMCD) defines LVG as goods sold at a price not exceeding MYR500 and brought into Malaysia by land, sea or air, while excluding cigarettes, tobacco products, intoxicating liquors, smoking pipes, electronic cigarettes and vaping preparations, according to the MyLVG FAQ. Those excluded categories sit outside the LVG regime because they are already subject to import duty, excise duty and sales tax under the normal import rules — the same framework explained in our guide to SST on imports in Malaysia.
Who has to register for LVG tax in Malaysia?
Any online seller — local or foreign — whose total sale value of low-value goods brought into Malaysia exceeds RM500,000 in a 12-month period must register with RMCD through the MyLVG portal. Once registered, the seller receives an LVG Registration Number (LVGRN) and charges 10% on every qualifying sale.
LVG sellers must register where the total sale value of LVG brought into Malaysia exceeds MYR500,000 in 12 months, via the MyLVG portal operated by RMCD, per the MyLVG FAQ. The seller applies on the LVG-01 form and, once approved, receives an LVG Registration Number (LVGRN); the registration mechanism opened on MyLVG from 1 January 2023, ahead of charging, according to EY's tax alert. Registered sellers then file the LVG-02 return each three-month taxable period.
Are you liable to register for LVG?
- You sell goods online (your own site or a marketplace) for RM500 or less per item.
- Those goods are shipped into Malaysia from overseas (you are the seller bringing them in).
- Your total LVG sales into Malaysia exceed RM500,000 in any 12 months.
- If all three are true, you must register on MyLVG, obtain your LVGRN, and charge 10% at checkout.
- The goods are not cigarettes, tobacco, liquor, smoking pipes or e-cigarettes (those are excluded).
How is the 10% LVG tax calculated?
The 10% is applied to the sale value of the goods only — the seller's selling price — and it excludes any tax, duty, fee, transportation or insurance cost. So if an item sells for RM200, the LVG tax is RM20, regardless of what shipping costs. The tax is added at checkout by the registered seller.
The sales tax is charged on the sale value of LVG not including any tax, duty, fee or other charges such as transportation or insurance, per the MyLVG FAQ — a deliberately simpler base than the CIF-plus-duty calculation used for full container imports. The worked example below shows how it lands on a typical parcel:
| Line item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Item selling price (the "sale value") | RM200.00 |
| Shipping & insurance charged by seller | RM30.00 (excluded from tax base) |
| LVG sales tax base | RM200.00 |
| LVG sales tax at 10% | RM20.00 |
| Total the buyer pays | RM250.00 |
Because the seller collects and remits the tax, the parcel should clear without the buyer being chased for tax on delivery — provided the seller's LVGRN is correctly quoted on the declaration.
LVG tax vs import duty and SST — what's the difference?
LVG tax is a flat 10% sales tax that a registered seller collects at checkout on goods sold for RM500 or less, with no import duty and nothing payable at the border. Normal imports above RM500 instead go through customs clearance and pay import duty plus 5% or 10% sales tax on the CIF-plus-duty value at importation.
LVG is built for high-volume, low-value e-commerce parcels and keeps tax off the border; the conventional regime applies to everything else — including bulk and container cargo — where duty and sales tax on imports are assessed during customs clearance. You can model the conventional path with our Malaysia import duty & SST calculator.
| LVG sales tax | Normal import (over RM500) | |
|---|---|---|
| Applies to | Online goods sold for RM500 or less |
Goods valued above RM500 / bulk & container cargo |
| Rate | Flat 10% sales tax |
Import duty (varies by HS code) + 5% or 10% SST |
| Tax base | Sale value of goods only | CIF value + duty (sales tax computed on duty-paid value) |
| Who pays / collects | Registered seller charges at checkout | Importer pays at clearance via declaration |
| Paid when | At point of sale (before shipping) | At the border, during clearance |
Do I still pay LVG tax on goods over RM500?
No. The LVG regime stops at RM500. Goods sold for more than RM500 fall outside LVG entirely and follow the existing import procedures — meaning they are assessed for import duty and sales tax on imports (where applicable) at the border, the same as any conventional shipment cleared through Port Klang.
Items exceeding the RM500 threshold remain subject to existing import procedures and to import duties and sales tax on imports if applicable, confirms the MyLVG FAQ. A RM600 gadget is not "LVG plus a bit" — it is treated as an ordinary import and the full duty-and-SST machinery applies. For importers consolidating many small orders into one shipment, that distinction can change the landed cost materially — one reason the true cost of importing a container to Port Klang matters before you scale up.
What happens if my supplier isn't LVG-registered?
If the seller has no valid LVGRN, the parcel cannot be cleared as LVG and is instead charged standard sales tax on imports at the border. In practice that can mean the buyer or their courier is asked to settle tax on delivery — an unexpected charge and a delay that registered, compliant sellers avoid.
The LVGRN must be quoted during importation — on the Customs Form No.1 (K1) declaration, via the e-PAM electronic pre-alert system, or on the CN22/CN23 postal/courier forms — and failure to provide it results in the goods being charged the standard sales tax on imports rather than the LVG mechanism, according to the MyLVG FAQ. For a business buying low-value goods overseas, the practical risk to manage is simple: confirm your supplier or marketplace is a Registered Seller, so the 10% is settled cleanly upstream rather than surfacing as a border charge.
Malaysia is not alone here — Singapore extended GST to imported low-value goods valued at S$400 or less from 1 January 2023, rising to 9% from 1 January 2024, per the IRAS e-Tax Guide, so the era of tax-free cross-border parcels is closing across the region.
How can a forwarder help with low-value goods imports?
For consumers, LVG tax is invisible — it is baked into the checkout price. The compliance burden falls on sellers and on businesses scaling up imports: once LVG volumes outgrow parcels and consolidate into sea or air freight, the shipment leaves the LVG regime and needs proper customs clearance, correct HS classification and duty/SST assessment.
That is where DNE Forwarding — a JKDM-licensed freight forwarder and customs broker clearing more than 1,000 containers a month through Port Klang for over 25 years — comes in. We help importers decide whether goods move as LVG, as parcels or as a consolidated import, and work out the real landed cost each way before they ship. With a documentation compliance rate above 99% and KA-licensed container haulage, we keep the border side clean so your supply chain into Malaysia stays predictable.
Frequently Asked Questions
When did the LVG sales tax start in Malaysia?
The charging and levying of the 10% Low-Value Goods sales tax took effect on 1 January 2024, under the Sales Tax (Amendment) Act 2022. Items purchased before that date are not charged LVG tax even if they are delivered afterwards, and the MyLVG registration mechanism opened earlier, on 1 January 2023.
Is the 10% LVG tax charged on shipping and insurance too?
No. The 10% applies only to the sale value of the goods — the seller's selling price. Transportation, insurance, and any tax, duty or fee are explicitly excluded from the LVG tax base, so an item sold for RM200 is taxed RM20 regardless of what shipping costs.
Do I pay LVG tax on goods worth more than RM500?
No. Goods sold for more than RM500 fall outside the LVG regime entirely. They follow the existing import procedures and are assessed for import duty and sales tax on imports (where applicable) at the border, the same as conventional or container cargo cleared through customs.
Who has to register for LVG, the buyer or the seller?
The seller. Any online seller, local or foreign, whose total sale value of low-value goods brought into Malaysia exceeds RM500,000 in a 12-month period must register on the MyLVG portal, obtain an LVG Registration Number (LVGRN), and charge 10% at checkout. Buyers never register.
What if the overseas seller isn't LVG-registered?
If the seller has no valid LVGRN to quote on the import declaration, the parcel is charged standard sales tax on imports at the border instead of the LVG mechanism. That can mean an unexpected tax charge and clearance delay, so it is worth buying from Registered Sellers.
Sources
- Ministry of Finance Malaysia — Sales Tax on Imported Low-Value Goods Sold Online (press release)
- MyLVG, Royal Malaysian Customs Department — LVG Frequently Asked Questions
- MyLVG portal, Royal Malaysian Customs Department — LVG seller registration
- EY — Malaysia to impose sales tax on imports of low value goods (tax alert)
- RinggitPlus — RMCD: 10% Sales Tax on Low-Value Goods from 1 January 2024
- Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) — GST: Taxing Imported Low-Value Goods (e-Tax Guide)
Part of a guide: this article is part of DNE's complete guide to customs clearance in Malaysia.