Here’s a not-so-open secret: enterprising Singaporean retailers can make an easy killing by acquiring products in bulk for cheap in neighboring Malaysia and sell it to customers here, getting huge profits from the endeavor.
It seems like one of them was made an example of last Thursday. A 34-year-old Singaporean man was caught attempting to evade Goods and Services Tax (GST) at Woodlands Checkpoint — GST he owed for the over 200 long dresses he purchased in Malaysia. The long dresses look very much like modest wear for Muslim women.
Singapore Customs officers suspected that the value he declared for the dresses was too low, and they were right. Turns out, the actual value was seven times higher than the amount declared by the man.
“The dresses were meant for sale in Singapore, and the man had under-declared the value of the dresses in an attempt to maximize his profits,” wrote Singapore Customs.
Under the Customs Act, any individual found to have failed to declare or correct declare taxable goods may be compounded up to 10 times the amount of duty and/or GST evaded.
The man got exactly that. Since the amount of GST evaded had been over $370, he was issued a composition sum of $3,700 for the offence of under-declaring the value of items brought into Singapore. A hefty price to pay for the hundreds of dresses that could have been sold to shoppers here.
Singapore’s tax rates may be relatively low when compared to Western countries, but the penalties for tax evasion is severe. Earlier this year, a 25-year-old Singaporean woman was arrested at Changi Airport for failing to declare branded handbags and accessories worth over S$11,000 in her possession.
Concert organizers LAMC Productions — the ones who brought in the likes of Metallica, Lady Gaga, and more here — were ordered to pay back three times the tax amount (S$256,212) and received a fine of S$25,000 for failing to declare and pay taxes amounting S$85,404 to the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore.
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