Man returning from France claims nothing to declare, caught with branded goods worth $25,548
A man was fined $18,500 on April 14 after returning to Singapore from France with $25,548 worth of branded goods that he did not declare.
Singaporean Eugene Wey, 41, pleaded guilty to one charge of fraudulent evasion of goods and services tax (GST) amounting to about $1,788.
On March 8, 2022, Wey and another Singaporean man named Song Qingguang Daniel, 41, had arrived in Singapore after a trip to France.
Wey was referred for further checks by an Immigration & Checkpoints Authority officer when they approached the Green Channel, which is for travellers without dutiable, controlled or prohibited goods.
When asked if he had anything in his luggage to declare, Wey replied that he did not. However, upon inspection, 24 pieces of branded goods were found in his luggage.
Investigations revealed that Wey and Song had travelled to France in late February 2022 to source and purchase branded goods for customers of Eplayground, a company that Song had invested in.
Eplayground's business involved selling branded goods from Europe with Song leading the Paris team that visited boutiques and luxury goods outlets in Paris to purchase branded goods on behalf of customers.
In addition to purchasing goods on behalf of customers, Wey also purchased branded goods for his relatives and friends.
Despite knowing that the goods were subject to GST and must be declared, Wey chose to exit via the Green Channel to avoid paying the GST.
On March 9, 2022, Singapore Customs officers conducted checks at Eplayground's office and found a parcel shipped via air freight from France. The description of the contents and the values stated on the air waybill did not match the actual contents and values.
The goods were seized.
Investigations revealed that the goods were shipped to Singapore by Song during the trip. However, he failed to ensure that the correct import value was provided, which led to the freight company incorrectly declaring the import value in the import declaration.
Song was fined $2,000 after pleading guilty to one charge of causing an incorrect declaration that led to a GST shortfall of about $368 on branded goods valued at around $5,858. Another similar charge was taken into consideration during sentencing.
Any person who is in any way concerned in fraudulent evasion of, or attempt to fraudulently evade, any duty or GST shall be guilty of an offence and will be liable on conviction to a fine of up to 20 times the amount of duty and GST evaded and/or imprisonment for up to two years.
Any person who makes any declaration which is untrue, incorrect or incomplete will be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000, or the equivalent of the amount of the customs duty, excise duty or tax payable, whichever is the greater amount, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months, or both.
Goods involved in the commission of the offences are liable for forfeiture.
