Singapore Customs: Singaporean woman, 32, gets S$11.4K fine for not declaring the jewellery brought into SG to evade S$946 GST

Summary

• A 32-year-old Singaporean woman was fined S$11,400 after pleading guilty to fraudulent evasion of GST on jewellery brought into Singapore.

• Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers found 23 jewellery pieces in her vehicle at Woodlands Checkpoint on April 5.

• The State Courts ordered 19 jewellery pieces and other exhibits forfeited, while fraudulent GST evasion can bring imprisonment and heavier fines.

SINGAPORE: Singapore Customs reported on Aug 17 that a Singaporean woman was fined S$11,400 for evading GST on jewellery.

Nabilah Binte Jaafar Al-Kathiri, 32, pleaded guilty to one charge in the State Courts on Aug 5. She also paid the fine. The case began when she arrived at Woodlands Checkpoint on April 5 in a Malaysian-registered vehicle. She told Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers that she had nothing to declare.

Checks found 23 jewellery pieces packed in 22 parcels inside a polymer bag in the vehicle’s boot. The items included 21 gold pieces and two titanium pieces. The jewellery was worth about S$10,512, while the GST avoided was about S$946.

Most of the jewellery was meant for resale

Investigators found that Nabilah was living in Malaysia and ran an online jewellery business selling to customers in Singapore.

She advertised the products through platforms including Facebook and Telegram. She bought the jewellery from shops in Malaysia before bringing it into Singapore for delivery.

Of the 23 pieces seized, 19 were meant for commercial sale. The remaining four were intended as personal gifts.

Selling goods across borders comes with customs duties and GST obligations. A business may operate through social media, but bringing taxable goods into Singapore still requires proper declaration.

The jewellery and other items were forfeited

Singapore Customs said Nabilah’s 19 pieces of jewellery, along with other case exhibits including bags and boxes used in the offence, were forfeited.

Photo: Singapore Customs

Travellers entering Singapore must make accurate and complete declarations for dutiable and taxable items. Duties and GST can be paid through the Customs@SG web application or at checkpoints.

Singapore Customs also said it will continue to enforce customs rules and protect public revenue. Members of the public can report suspected smuggling or duty and GST evasion to Customs at https://go.gov.sg/reportcustomsoffence.

Fraudulent GST evasion can bring heavier penalties

Under the Customs Act 1960 and GST Act 1993, fraudulent evasion of duty or GST is a serious offence.

A conviction can bring a fine of up to “20 times the amount of duty and GST evaded,” Singapore Customs said. Offenders can also face imprisonment for up to 12 months.

For anyone bringing goods into Singapore for business, if GST applies, declaring the goods and paying what is due is far cheaper than trying to slip them through a checkpoint.

Small online businesses still have to abide by the same customs rules as everyone else.