Duties Due from Under-declaration of Imported Cars from 2011 to 2021

Miss Cheryl Chan Wei Ling asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance from 2011 to 2021 (a) what is the total amount of duties due from the under-declared value of cars imported into Singapore; and (b) whether the measures in preventing under declaration have improved and been effective.

Singapore Customs employ various measures to deter the under-declaration of the value of imported cars. These include the requirement for importers to provide supporting commercial documents so that suspicious transactions can be detected. Surprise audits and inspections on motor vehicle importers are conducted to verify the accuracy of declarations. Importers who are found to have under-declared the values of imported cars may be prosecuted.

Through these efforts, the excise duties due from the under-declared value of cars imported into Singapore has been kept low at $1.3 million over 2011 to 2021, which is less than 0.1% of the total excise duties collected by Singapore Customs for motor cars over the same period.