Singapore Customs: Singaporean woman, 32, gets S$11.4K fine for not declaring the jewellery brought into SG to evade S$946 GST
Her jewellery was worth about S$10,512, yet she falsely told Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers that she had nothing to declare This article ( Singapore Customs: Singaporean woman, 32, gets S$11.4K fine for not declaring the jewellery brought into SG to evade S$946 GST ) first appeared on The Independent Singapore News .
A Singaporean woman, 32-year-old Nabilah Binte Jaafar Al-Kathiri, was fined S$11,400 after pleading guilty to evading GST on imported jewellery. On April 5, Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers discovered 23 jewellery pieces packed in 22 parcels in her Malaysian-registered vehicle during a checkpoint inspection at Woodlands. The items, valued at around S$10,512 and including 21 gold and two titanium pieces, evaded S$946 in GST.
Living in Malaysia, Nabilah operated an online jewellery business targeting Singaporean customers, advertising through social media platforms like Facebook and Telegram. Of the 23 pieces seized, 19 were intended for commercial sale, while four were personal gifts. Customs officials emphasized that declaring taxable goods and paying the appropriate duties and GST is essential for businesses operating across borders.
The State Courts ordered forfeiture of the jewellery and other exhibits, while Nabilah was ordered to pay the S$11,400 fine. Under the Customs Act 1960 and GST Act 1993, fraudulent GST evasion can result in hefty penalties, including fines of up to twenty times the amount evaded and imprisonment for up to 12 months. Small online businesses are reminded to comply with customs regulations, as non-compliance can be more costly than adhering to the rules.
Written by urgent.news from The Independent Singapore's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
