S’pore woman evades GST for luxury goods & teaches others how to do the same, gets S$18K fine

Woman in Singapore evades GST for luxury goods and teaches others how to do so

On Thursday (27 March), a woman was fined S$18,000 for evading Goods and Services Tax (GST) at Changi Airport.

She had evaded over S$2,200 in GST for luxury goods bought overseas and even went online to teach others how to do the same, reported The Straits Times (ST).

Splurged on luxury goods while overseas

In May 2024, Cloey Tan Wan Qi, along with her boyfriend and family, travelled to the Netherlands and Belgium.

There, the 27-year-old purchased multiple luxury goods from different brands, amounting to more than S$23,000.

The items include:

• Five bags from Christian Dior, Gucci, and Louis Vuitton
• Two luxury wallets
• A pair of shoes from Michael Kors
• An engagement ring from jeweller House of Gassan

Despite knowing that GST was payable upon returning to Singapore, Tan chose not to declare the items when clearing immigration at Changi Airport, avoiding more than S$2,200 in taxes.

Source: Sure Boh Singapore

Days later, Tan shared a post on Lemon8 titled, “Six tips on how to smuggle luxury goods and avoid detection by customs.”

The post later caught the attention of the authorities, leading to her arrest in Jan 2025.

Tan pleaded for leniency

In sentencing, District Judge Eddy Tham noted that Tan had openly admitted to the offence online and, more seriously, encouraged others to do the same.

Prosecutors argued that Tan showed no remorse by sharing the post and pushed for a fine between S$16,000 and S$17,000.|

However, he also noted that Tan had made full restitution n and pleaded guilty.

In her defence, Tan apologised and pleaded for leniency, saying she had disappointed both herself and her parents, who had “placed a lot of hope” on her.

Those found guilty of evading duty and GST could be fined up to 20 times the amount or jailed for up to two years under the Customs Act.

Also read: S’pore travellers fined S$3.4M because of undeclared goods, items include Labubu & designer bags

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Featured image adapted from MS News.