SINGAPORE: A 42-year-old Singaporean woman has been fined more than S$32,000 for failing to declare branded goods she bought overseas, the Singapore Customs said on Thursday (Sep 20).
In a media release, the Singapore Customs said Tammy Tien Mi was sentenced by the State Court to a fine of S$32,892.78 after she pleaded guilty to a charge of failing to declare taxable goods brought into Singapore.
On Jan 27, 2018, Tien arrived at Changi Airport from France. She was stopped for checks by Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers. When asked if she had anything to declare, Tien replied “no”.
The luxury goods discovered included handbags, shoes, coats, dresses, scarves and other accessories. (Photo: Singapore Customs)
Her four luggage bags were then put through an X-ray scanner, and images of several handbags were seen. The ICA officers referred Tien to Singapore Customs for further investigation.
After inspecting Tien’s bags, Singapore Customs officers found a total of 30 luxury goods. This included handbags, shoes, coats, dresses, scarves and other accessories worth more than S$469,890 that Tien had bought from various boutiques in France.
The total amount of Goods and Services Tax (GST) payable for the luxury goods amounted to S$32,892.78.
The luxury goods discovered included handbags, shoes, coats, dresses, scarves and other accessories. (Photo: Singapore Customs)
“It is the responsibility of all arriving travellers to make accurate and complete declaration of the dutiable and taxable items in their possession for duty and GST payment,” said Singapore Customs.
Under the Customs Act, those found guilty of failing to declare dutiable and taxable items can be fined up to S$10,000, or an amount equivalent to the tax payable, whichever is the greater amount. They may also be sentenced to jail for up to 12 months.
