Mr
Lauren Sim Guan Heng, 44 faces 146 charges for
fraudulent evasion of excise duty and GST, and
additional 124 charges for making incorrect declarations
to Customs officers.
310
units of Japanese cars of various makes were involved
and the duty and GST shortpaid totalled $417,246.09. The
offences took place between August 2006 and September
2007.
He
will be charged in court on 30 June 2009.
Since
November 2008, 12 people have been charged in court for
evading duty and GST. One of them had pleaded guilty and
was fined a total of S$1.416m in April 2009. The other
cases are still ongoing.
Under
the Customs Act, it is the responsibility of the
importers to ensure the accuracy and completeness of the
values and other related costs declared.
Under-declaration
of the value is a serious offence as it will result in
short payment of duty, GST and Additional Registration
Fee (ARF).
Any
person who is guilty of fraudulent evasion of duties or
GST will be liable on conviction to a fine of up to 20
times the amount of duty and GST evaded or imprisonment,
or both. In addition to the penalties meted out by the
court, the offenders are also required to make good the
duty and GST shortpaid to the government.
