New regulations have been put in place for shipping into Malaysia. It seems before one could self-clear and only needed a carnet for a vehicle.

After 1.5 weeks of being in K.L. we finally sorted it and rode our bikes out of the port!

All foreign imports will need to engage with an agency in order for them to produce an "acceptance letter" for receipt of goods. This is the new change which discourages self-clearance. After quotes from a few companies in Malaysia, we used FM Global Logistics (sugu@fmgloballogistics.com) as they came out as half the price of the others and they were lovely people.

Before your vehicle arrives, you will need insurance and an ICP (circulation permit) (NOT road tax as we erroneously told by one agent- road tax is only applicable to people who want to register their vehicle in Malaysia and the minimum period is 6 months).

Insurance: we tried 3 companies in KL: UNI general Asia, Zurich and Kurnia. UNI general almost gave us insurance but it required so many emails back and forth that we lost patience. The others wouldn't insure foreign bikes over 500cc. In the end, we hired a car and drove to the border with Thailand and bought Zurich(!) insurance for $15 each (per month- for a 1200cc and 785cc).
ICP: JPJ sort this for you (dept. of transport). The headquarters are in Putrajaya. They're not really used to foreigners requesting temporary ICPs in KL yet (on the border it's not a problem, in fact they are next door to the insurers). You NEED an ICP to clear your vehicle through customs but JPJ need to see the vehicle to give a permanent ICP a nice catch 22. Anyhow, they gave us a temporary one for a week under the promise we'd return to their office with the bikes once cleared. They can also arrange to come to the port to inspect bikes but I'm not sure how complicated that would be (we had to speak to three different officials before someone gave us ICPs after 3 hours of waiting).

With your insurance and ICP and carnet for vehicle your agent will help with the other documents you need for customs:
- registration as temporary importer
- import letter
-export letter (requires approximate date of departure and border you intend to cross)
- acceptance letter from agent.
- shipping invoice
- packing list (if applicable- didn't have one but we got away with it despite having all our camping gear and clothing shipped in the crate with the bikes)
- passport copy of every stamped page of your passport(!)

If you go first thing in the morning to customs with correct documents in hand (3 copies of all the letters) you can clear in a day and ride out that afternoon. be warned of the frequent public holidays (we arrived during chinese new year) and that Fridays no one works between 12-3pm.

Approximate costs (total paid was $400): this was divided by $180 to customs for two bikes cleared, $85 to shippers, $100 to agency and the rest for demurrage/warehouse/carpenter etc... Other agencies were asking $500 per vehicle on top of other fees. The storage fees are low in Port Klang thankfully, as our bikes were waiting there for 5 days before being cleared!

Hope this helps

Great stuff, Alex, great stuff!
I just arrived with my bike in KL via the KLIA airport. I did the whole customs clearance process in a single day incl. building my bike together and being in KL in the afternoon.

1. Before you go to the Cargo-terminal itself you need a day pass in this building here - 2nd floor and hard to miss due to huge signs. You'll be leaving your passport there. Be sure to take a copy of it with you if your airball hasn't got one attached.
2. Go to the Cargo Terminal or in Openstreetmaps called KLIA3 and show your day pass.
3. Pick up your original airbill here. The guards at the gate were kind enough to organise a transport for me to that building. If you've got a backpack with you, you can leave it at the customer service right next door.
4. Pick up your customs-report-prepartation-stuff here, they'll give you an offices name. It's Core 2 now, and not Core 1 as stated on their plan. Second to last door on the left in the 2nd floor.
5. Go back with that and pay about 50$ for handling at the counter - one office in front of the place where you got your original airbill.
6. Get your freight-release-form from the place where you got your original airbill.
7. Let your bike get out of storage - just 50 metres down the hall. Build it together. They are kind to provide you with a crowbar and you can even leave all your rubbish here.
8. Go to customs clearance here. 6th floor, first room on the right. (Closed between 1pm and 2pm!)
9. Go with the folder they gave you down to the ground floor and turn to the left when you get out of the building. The big entrance to the left of you after 20 meters is where you get a signature at one of the counters. Just approach them directly. Doesn't even take them a minute.
10. Go here with the bike and let your chassis and engine number get checked. They should write you something on the back of the slip and into the book.
11. Return back at the customs office in the 6th floor, giving back the folder and leaving your slip of the carnet there. Make sure to let them give you a copy of it as it serves as your exit permit - weirdly.
12. Go to exit-gate 4 or 5, depending on which is open. Hand them the slip and leave.
13. Fuel up just 2 km away at Petronas on the highway to the North. Warning, no air available. The first air I found available was here. (My air pump gave up - was lucky to move at all)

And you're done. I started the process at 9.30 am and was completely done at 3.30pm. Get rid of about 30 minutes to an hour of unnecessary walks and have an easier build-up than mine saving yourself about the same amount of time again and you can easily be in KL in the early afternoon. The only costs I had to pay were the 50$ handling charge. No questions asked about insurance.

Hope it helps!

__________________
World-traveller with a rather heavy '16 GSA
www.goinground.me

Hey Juaen,

Great info, thanks... extremely helpful.
I'm just looking into flying the bike into KL from UB if it works out cheaper than from S. Korea.
Can I ask, did you have to 'engage an agent' as suggested by Alex in the post above yours or is this just in the case of shipping?
How about getting a circulation permit via the AAM in advance?

All help gratefully appreciated.

Cheers

__________________
TTR250 - Going round...
IG - hajimoto.san

Hey, this is great information, thank you! I am shipping my bike via AIR into KL and am wondering if I can clear it through customs and all myself.

My shipping company is All Cargo Express from Vancouver and they can connect me with the services of FM Global Logistics on the KL for customs clearance, etc. for a cost of $500. That is a lot of money, though maybe a reasonable rate for the services.

I would like to save money if it is something I can manage myself. This is my first time taking my motorcycle through customs (beginning of a multi years world trip) so I am new to it all. Part of the adventure I think!

I have a Carnet. Anybody have any additional advice for a first timer?!
Thanks!
Julia

I would like to thank Juaen again for posting his super detailed description of self-clearing at the KLIA airport, as it really helped me! Yesterday my bike arrived in KUL airport, and I successfully cleared it through customs myself. I really followed Juaen’s instructions at the beginning as it was helpful just to know where to start. A few steps in to it I found enough officials who spoke some English and could point me in the right direction.
Have patience (lots of it) for being confused and waking back and forth between buildings, and smile and say thank you in Malay a lot. These things will all help. And once I wandered into the wrong building they told me I definitely need an agent, however it is not true.

I shipped a DR650, and only paid about $45 USD on KUL side cargo charges. If I used an agent their fee will be $550 USD, so I am so glad I cleared it myself. And it’s part of the adventure- I feel I really accomplished something. Good luck to all!

hi
could you tell me how much it cost to fly a bike from kl to vancouver ?
thanks