Two men each fined $3.98m for GST evasion

Two men each fined $3.98m for GST evasion

The Singapore Customs said on Monday (March 14) that two men have each been fined $3.98 million for evading duty and Goods and Services Tax (GST) of more than $890,000.

If they fail to pay the fine, they will serve 54 months and one week in prison.

Song Hock Kee, 55, and Tan Lip Cheong, 51, each pleaded guilty to 18 charges. Another 30 charges were also taken into consideration in the sentencing.

Song, who was the director of Windemac Private Limited, had submitted two permit declarations to Singapore Customs to export 51,558 bottles of liquor, wine and beer in February 2015.

However, he did not export all of them.

Song worked with Tan, the manager of the same company, to retain 9,810 bottles of the duty-unpaid liquor and beer to sell to their customers in Singapore at a profit.

Singapore Customs added that investigations revealed the two men had similarly diverted duty-unpaid liquor meant for export into the Singapore market on nine other occasions.

Anyone found guilty of intentionally evading duty and GST for taxable goods will face a fine of up to 20 times the amount of duty and GST evaded.

To report similar illegal activities, members of the public can contact Singapore Customs by calling 1800-2330000, emailing customs_intelligence@customs.gov.sg, or using the Customs@SG mobile app.

minlee@sph.com.sg

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