Singaporeans fined over S$2.6 million for evading duty and GST on imported vehicles
Two Singaporean men have been fined a total of more than S$2.6 million for under-declaring the value of imported motor vehicles, resulting in the evasion of duty and Goods and Services Tax (GST).
In a joint statement on Monday (20 April), the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and Singapore Customs said the scheme involved falsified documents that made the vehicles appear less valuable than they actually were.
Both men pleaded guilty and were sentenced to fines, with jail terms imposed after they failed to pay.
Scheme involved using company front to avoid detection
Investigations revealed that in 2020, 51-year-old Phang Boon Wee Desmond sought to take control of Metalox Autos to import vehicles at “suppressed values”.
Source: Dar ius on Canva, for illustration purposes only
To reduce his exposure to legal liability, he arranged for 45-year-old Loke Chern Meng to be listed as the company’s director and sole shareholder.
In return, Loke was paid S$200 for each vehicle imported and allowed Phang to run the company’s operations, including access to its corporate accounts.
Phang sourced buyers and worked with overseas suppliers to obtain invoices reflecting lower prices.
These were submitted to Singapore Customs as part of the Declaration of Facts (DOF), while separate payments were made for the undeclared amounts.
Over 140 vehicles under-declared
Singapore Customs launched investigations after suspecting that Metalox’s DOF submissions had been falsified.
Authorities found that 143 vehicles were under-declared between December 2020 and January 2022, resulting in about S$266,854 in unpaid duty and GST.
Separately, incorrect value declarations were made for 139 vehicles during registration, leading to an Additional Registration Fee (ARF) shortfall of S$1,348,620.
The court ordered both men to pay this amount to LTA.
Jail terms after failing to pay fines
Phang was fined S$1,362,000 on Monday for offences involving 142 vehicles imported between January 2021 and January 2022.
He did not pay the fine and will serve 27 months’ imprisonment in default.
Loke had earlier been fined S$1,298,500 on 6 March 2023 for similar offences.
After failing to pay, he served 26 months’ imprisonment in default.
Both men were also each sentenced to five weeks’ jail for providing incorrect information that affected the ARF payable.
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