Singapore Uncovers Scheme to Evade Import Duties, Arrests 3 Chinese Nationals

Singapore Customs arrested three Chinese nationals who were driving Singapore-registered trucks with a total of more than 9,000 cartons of smuggled cigarettes, according to a May 10 notice. The shipment, split into two trucks at separate locations, evaded more than a combined $930,000 in Singapore’s duties and Goods and Services Tax, the notice said. Violators of the customs duty and GST laws can be fined up to 40 times the amount of evaded duties and tax, and could have a maximum six-year prison sentence added.