Woman fined $5k for failing to declare items such as branded bags, Labubu after flying back from UK
They travelled by air, land and sea.
A woman was fined $5,000 for failing to declare items including branded bags and Labubu after returning to Singapore from UK.
She had flown back from a London business trip and failed to truthfully declare the goods in her possession.
During a bag inspection, Singapore Customs officers discovered various undeclared bags and accessories by brands such as Louis Vuitton, Prada, Yves Saint Laurent, Dior and Balenciaga, as well as Pop Mart toys, including Labubu, intended as gifts.
The traveller admitted she was aware of the goods and services tax (GST) relief limits but believed that only personal items required declaration.
A maximum composition fine of S$5,000 was imposed and GST of $3,963.69 was recovered for the items.
She was one of 13,099 travellers caught at air, land, and sea checkpoints for not declaring dutiable and taxable goods brought into Singapore in the first 10 months of 2024. The total composition fine imposed was $3,471,043.
Compared to the same period in 2023, 7,193 travellers were caught and the total composition sum imposed was $2,303,380.
In another case, a man couriering items on behalf of another person was brought for further questioning after a failed transaction at the self-help customs declaration kiosk at Woodlands Checkpoint.
Officers discovered undeclared items in two vehicles and a further search uncovered several undeclared invoices with suppressed values.
A composition fine of $3,920 was imposed and GST of $441.05 was recovered for the items.
In a third case, a female traveller was intercepted at the Singapore Cruise Centre and was found to be in possession of both new and used gold jewellery intended for commercial purposes.
She was a repeat offender.
A composition sum of $1,935 was imposed and GST of S$96.95 was recovered for the items.
