Singapore Customs today arrested a Singaporean man for fraudulent evasion of duty and Goods and Services Tax (GST) by submitting invoices that showed incorrect values for the import of motor cars from Japan.

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.