KUALA LUMPUR (March 29): Tan Chong Motor Holdings Bhd said it will be settling its RM180 million Royal Malaysian Customs Department (RMCD) bill out of court, by way of reduced bills of demand and compound amounting to RM109 million.

In a filing with the exchange, the car assembler said the settlement is subject to the finalisation of the terms of the consent order.

"The company is pleased to announce that this matter has been resolved amicably and expeditiously as this will enable Tan Chong Motor Assemblies Sdn Bhd (TCMA) to focus on its core business instead of being entangled in a protracted litigation," said the group.

In May last year, RMCD slapped TCMA with the RM180 million bill for excise duties from Nov 1, 2016 to Oct 31, 2019.

TCMA is the group's manufacturing subsidiary with facilities in Serendah, Selangor as well as Da Nang, Vietnam and Yangon, Myanmar.

The subsidiary has built passenger and commercial vehicles for Nissan, Renault, Subaru, Mitsubishi, UD Trucks, Foto and Bison trucks.

Tan Chong Motor's share price closed unchanged at RM1.17, giving a market capitalisation of RM786.24 million.