This newsletter from Singapore Customs provides information on customs guidelines, contraband cigarette enforcement, customs violations and penalties, and TradeNet statistics. It discusses tax relief and duty-free concessions for travelers, Singapore Customs' efforts to reduce the contraband cigarette market through enforcement actions, penalties for customs offenses ranging from composition sums to prosecution, and how TradeNet has facilitated trade by processing around 9 million permits annually in a paperless manner.

1. FIRDAUS ZULKIFLI DSFSS (10)
Disclaimer: This newsletter is part of a school assignment and all rights to the assignment belong
to their respective owners. 1
_
SINGAPORE CUSTOMS NEWSLETTER ISSUE AUGUST 2018
C U S T O MS G u i d e s
FOR TRAVELLERS
Whether you’re coming to
Singapore as a tourist or as a
resident returning home, you
will find that there are tax relief
and duty-free concessions that
may be applicable to some of
your accompanying goods.
C o n t r a b a n d C i g a r e t t e
ENFORCEMENT
Higher demand for legitimate
cigarettes, fewer contraband
cigarettes seized and the break-
up of major syndicates in 2011
show that Singapore Customs’
enforcement efforts and
collaborations with otheragencies
continue to produce results.
C U S T O MS V i o l a t i o n
OFFENCES & PENALTIES
Penalties are shaped to encourage
voluntary compliance and to deter
recalcitrant and rogue traders. The
legislative framework places the
onus for compliance on the
importer, exporter or their agent.
Traders with fraudulent intent will
be prosecuted in court.
OUR MISSION 
As the guardian of Singapore’s trade, we
uphold our laws to build trust, facilitate trade
and protect revenue.

2. FIRDAUS ZULKIFLI DSFSS (10)
Disclaimer: This newsletter is part of a school assignment and all rights to the assignment belong
to their respective owners. 2
CUSTOMS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CUSTOMS GUIDES....................................................................................................... 3_
Goods & Service Tax .................................................................................................. 3_
Reminder ..................................................................................................................... 3_
CONTRABAND CIGARETTE ......................................................................................... 4_
Enforcement ................................................................................................................. 5_
CUSTOMS VIOLATION.................................................................................................. 5_
Offences & Penalties ................................................................................................... 5_
TRADENET® INFORMATION ........................................................................................ 6_
Yearly Trade Facilitation Statistics................................................................................ 6_
REFERENCE..............................................................................................................7_

3. FIRDAUS ZULKIFLI DSFSS (10)
Disclaimer: This newsletter is part of a school assignment and all rights to the assignment belong
to their respective owners. 3
Time Spent Away from Singapore Value of Goods Granted GST Relief
48 hours or more S$600
Less than 48 hours S$150
CUSTOMS Guides
Whether you’re coming to Singapore as a tourist or as a
resident returning home, you will find that there are tax relief
and duty-free concessions that may be applicable to some
of your accompanying goods.
Goods and Services Tax (GST) Relief
 Travellers are required to pay GST only on the value of
goods that exceeds their GSTrelief and on goods carried
for or behalf of other persons. GST is levied on the value
of goods, which may include the cost, insurance and
freight (CIF) plus other chargeable costs and the duty
payable (if applicable).
 Travellers should declare and pay the GSTfor their goods
at the Customs Tax Payment Office.
 There is no GST relief for liquor, tobacco products,
petroleum, and goods imported for commercial purposes.
 Holders of a work permit, employment pass, student
pass, dependent pass or long-term pass issued by the
Singapore Government and crew members are not
eligible for GST relief.
Reminder
It is theresponsibility of travellers
to make an accurate and
complete declaration of all goods
exceeding their duty-free
concession and GST relief in
their possession, including
goods carried for or on behalf of
other persons. Those who fail to
declare at the Red Channel can
be fined and prosecuted in court.
All goods brought into Singapore – including new items, souvenirs, gifts or food products – are
subjected to 7 percent GST.
However, travellers can enjoy GST relief on goods meant for their personal use depending on the
time spent away from Singapore:

4. FIRDAUS ZULKIFLI DSFSS (10)
Disclaimer: This newsletter is part of a school assignment and all rights to the assignment belong
to their respective owners. 4
CONTRABAND CIGARETTE ENFORCEMENT
In 2011, $917m in cigarette duties were collected, up from $877m in 2010 Overall, the supply of legal
cigarettes has increased 31.6 per cent from 2007. This is attributed to stepped-up enforcement efforts,
which has led to more smokers switching to duty-paid cigarettes.
s a result, the contraband cigarette
market has shrunk. Collaborations with
other law enforcement agencies and
media publicity have proven effective in curbing
the cigarette supply in the black market. The 1.9
million packets of cigarettes seized in 2011, a
17.4 per cent decrease from 2.3 million packets
in 2010, was the third consecutive year of
decline in the number of cigarettes seized.
Some 458 cigarette peddlers were caught in
2011, a 34.8 per cent decrease from 702 in
2010. Due to the rigorous nature of Customs
enforcement, the peddlers have become more
innovative, using modified household objects
like flowerpots and rubbish bins to hide illegal
cigarettes. In many cases, they will store the
cigarettes in filthy places such as drains and
toilets. Yet
street
demand
remained
strong with
5,977 people
caught
buying illegal
cigarettes, a
1.6 per cent
increase
over 5,885 in
2010.
Singapore
Customs
also worked
closely with
other enforcement agencies, such as the
Immigration & Checkpoints Authority, the
Singapore Police Force (SPF) and the Police
Coast Guard, to bust four major cigarette
smuggling syndicates. Three syndicates used
boats calling on Singapore to smuggle boxes of
cigarettes wrapped in black trash bags. A total
of 47 people was arrested in the major sea
smuggling cases. The quantity of cigarettes
seized amounted to 20,210 cartons, with duty
and Goods and Services Tax (GST) evaded
exceeding $1.9 million.
A
697
763
861
877
917
0 200 400 600 800 1000
2 0 0 7
2 0 0 8
2 0 0 9
2 0 1 0
2 0 1 1
DUTY COLLECTION FOR
CIG ARETTES ($ M ILLION)
$ Million

5. FIRDAUS ZULKIFLI DSFSS (10)
Disclaimer: This newsletter is part of a school assignment and all rights to the assignment belong
to their respective owners. 5
Offences & Penalties
In general, offenders may settle customs offences by an out-of-court composition sum or prosecution
in court. The penalty for a customs offence is a composition sum of up to S$5000, or prosecution in
court, depending on the severity of the offence.
Those found committing customs offences at the checkpoints may be offered the following composition
amounts:
1. The compositionamount will take into considerationthe GST offence, and be rounded down to the nearest $5 with
effect from 1 Jan 2017.
2. The actual composition amount offered may be different from the table depending on circumstances of the case.
This will be specified in the letter issued by a Singapore Customs officer. Please note if there is a delay in payment
of the compositionsum, offenders can be charged in court for the offence.
3. Offenders can be charged in court without any offer of composition in serious cases or where the composition
amount that can be offered exceeds S$5000.
Type of Offence Composition Amount
Failure to declare or making an incorrect declarationof
cigarettes
1st offence: S$200/pack or per 20 sticks or part thereof
2nd offence: S$500/pack or per 20 sticks or part thereof
3rd offence: S$800/pack or per20 sticks or part thereof
Failure to declare or making an incorrect declarationof
dutiable goods other than cigarettes
1st offence: 10 times the duty amount
2nd offence: 15 times the duty amount
3rd offence: 20 times the duty amount
Subject to a minimum of S$50
Failure to declare or making an incorrect declarationof
non-dutiable goods
10 times the Goods and Services Tax (GST) amount
subject to a minimum of S$50
Leaving Singapore in a Single-registered motor vehicle
with less than three-quarter tank full of motor fuel
This applies to petrol, CNG and petrol-CNG supply tanks.
1st offence: S$100
2nd offence: S$300
3rd offence: S$500
The driver must turn back to Singapore to fill the fuel
supply tank to three-quarter full tank before he is allowed
to leave Singapore with the motor vehicle/
The driver will be charged in court if the fuel gauge of his
motor vehicle is tampered.

6. FIRDAUS ZULKIFLI DSFSS (10)
Disclaimer: This newsletter is part of a school assignment and all rights to the assignment belong
to their respective owners. 6
TRADE MADE EASY
Tradenet cuts down unnecessary paperwork
when traders submit permit applications to
Government agencies. This initiative to
transact with the Whole-of-Government
electronically involved more than 15 agencies
and organisations. Started in 1989 and
upgraded in 2007 to version 4.0. TradeNet
offers an extensive suite of services.Other than
declaration of imports and exports, traders can
also amend permit details, cancel unused
permits and submit claims forthe refund ofduty
and GST erroneously paid, making it a one-
stop solution for Government-related
transactions. TradeNet 4.0 has enabled
businesses to save almost S$4 million a year
from reduced trade declaration fees.
8,750,000
8,800,000
8,850,000
8,900,000
8,950,000
9,000,000
9,050,000
9,100,000
9,150,000
9,200,000
9,250,000
FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017
FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017
Number of TradeNet®
Permits Issued
9,139,571 9,121,102 8,916,576 9,007,301 9,243,536
Number of TradeNet® Permits Issued
In the early 1980s, the various Government
agencies were processing about 2.5 million
trade declarations each year. Traders had to
submit multiple forms and sets of documents
to the various agencies – approval took an
average of two to four days.
TradeNet made its debut in 1989 as the
world’s first nationwide electronic data
interchange (EDI) system for clearance of
trade documentation. With TradeNet, traders
could submit a single form through a single
interface to all the relevant agencies.
Today, TradeNet handles almost 10 million
permits a year and processes 90 per cent of
the declarations within 10 minutes.
TradeNet 24 hours a day, seven days a
week. The fee for each TradeNet declaration
today is $2.88, down from $6.40 when the
system wasfirst implemented in 1989.

7. FIRDAUS ZULKIFLI DSFSS (10)
Disclaimer: This newsletter is part of a school assignment and all rights to the assignment belong
to their respective owners. 7
REFERENCE
(2012, February) Contraband Cigarette Enforcement Continues to Yield Positive Results. inSYNC.
Retrieved from https://www.customs.gov.sg/~/media/cus/files/insync/issue16/article_4.html
(2018) Duty-Free Concession and GST Relief. Retrieve from
https://www.customs.gov.sg/individuals/going-through-customs/arrival/duty-free-concession-
and-gst-relief
Seah et al. (2010) Highway for Trade. SPH Magazines. Retrieve from https://www.customs.gov.sg/-
/media/cus/files/news-and-media/highway-for-trade/singaporecustom32pplores.pdf
(2018) Revenue Statistics. Retrieve from https://www.customs.gov.sg/news-and-
media/publications/statistics