Foreign cars entering Johor from Singapore must use VEP from Oct 1

All foreign-registered vehicles entering Malaysia from Singapore by land will be required to use a Vehicle Entry Permit (VEP) from Oct 1, 2024.

This will apply to motorists entering both Johor's checkpoints at the Sultan Iskandar Building and Sultan Abu Bakar Complex via the Causeway and the Second Link respectively, said Malaysia's Transport Minister Anthony Loke at a press conference in Putrajaya on May 28.

The VEP, renewable every five years, was announced in 2017.

The scheme was intended to determine the number of foreign vehicles entering Malaysia, and to prevent car theft and deter car-cloning syndicates.

In April 2019, the Malaysian government announced that it would enforce mandatory registration for foreign vehicles entering from Singapore starting from Oct 1 that year.

But in October 2019, Loke said the enforcement would be postponed due to issues with the installation of a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag required for the VEP.

In January 2020, he reiterated that the system would be on hold as his ministry worked on finding a way to make it easier for vehicles from Singapore to register for the tag.

According to the website of Malaysia's Road Transport Department (JPJ), motorists can sign up online to register details of the vehicle, owner and driver. Car owners can also appoint a representative to register on their behalf.

After the information is verified, registrants will receive a confirmation e-mail, which they can use to present at designated VEP collection counters in Johor Bahru to get their VEP-RFID tags.

The processing fee of the tag is RM10 (S$2.90).

Owners of motorcycles, commercial vehicles and government vehicles must also register for the VEP system, but the tags for these vehicles will be introduced only at a later date.

According to the JPJ, the VEP-RFID tag will be printed with the registered vehicle's unique serial number and contains a chip and an antenna.

Typically pasted on the registered car's headlamp, the tag cannot be removed or will no longer be functional.

A road charge of RM20 is currently imposed on foreign-registered private cars each time they enter Malaysia.

Motorcyclists are exempt from the road charge.

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This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.