Singapore Customs

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Singapore Customs

新加坡关税局
Agency overview
Jurisdiction Government of Singapore
Headquarters 55 Newton Road, #10-01 Revenue House, Singapore 307987
Parent agency Ministry of Finance (Singapore)
Website www.customs.gov.sg

Singapore Customs (Abbreviation: SC; Chinese: 新加坡关税局; Malay: Kastam Singapura;) is a government agency under the Ministry of Finance (Singapore). SC was reconstituted on 1 April 2003, after the Customs and Excise Department and the Trade Facilitation Division and Statistics Audit Unit of International Enterprise Singapore (IE Singapore) were merged.[1]

The border function's at the land, air and sea checkpoints were also simultaneously transferred to Immigrations and Checkpoints Authority (ICA). SC became the lead agency on trade facilitation and revenue enforcement matters. It is also responsible for the implementation of customs and trade enforcement measures including those related to Free Trade Agreements and strategic goods.

The headquarters is located in Revenue House along Newton Road.

Goods and Services Tax Refund

SC exercises GST endorsement for the Tourist Refund Scheme at the following land, air and sea checkpoints:

  • Land checkpoints:
    • Tuas Checkpoint
    • Woodlands Checkpoint
  • Air checkpoints:
    • Changi Airport Terminal 1
    • Changi Airport Terminal 2
    • Changi Airport Terminal 3
    • Changi Airport Budget Terminal

History

The Customs department's history dates back to the Straits Settlement period. Established in 1910 under the name Government Monopolies Department, Customs is one of the oldest tax-collecting organisations in Singapore. The origin of revenue collection went back to December 1909 when the first import duty was imposed on hard liquors. In 1916, the tariff was extended to include tobacco and cigarettes. The collection of duty on petroleum was introduced in 1934.

The department has since gone through many developments, as well as organisational and name changes. The span of past 90 years has seen a significant expansion of the department's responsibilities, brought about by globalisation and changes in laws, tariffs, trading and traveling trends.

In April 2003, the department was re-constituted as Singapore Customs - an agency that provides services for customs, trade and revenue matters. .[2]

Primary roles and functions

SC’s primary roles and functions are:

  • collection of customs revenue;
  • protection of customs revenue by preventing the evasion of duties and taxes;
  • provision of one-stop solutions for trade and customs matters, such as issuance of permits, licenses and Certificates of Origin, and provision of classification and valuation advice;
  • facilitation of trade through simplification of customs procedures and administration of tax suspension schemes;
  • enforcement of trade requirements under the respective Free Trade Agreements (FTAs);
  • regulation of trade in strategic goods and strategic goods technology; and
  • enforcement against the illegal buying and selling of duty-unpaid cigarettes.

Divisions and Branches

SC is commanded by the Director-General who is assisted by a Senior Assistant Director-General and six Assistant Director-Generals.

The agency operates under six divisions; namely Trade, Compliance, Policy & Planning, Checkpoint & Corporate Services, Intelligence & Investigation and Corporate Development. Under these six divisions are 26 operating branches. The divisions and branches work across various functions, ranging from trade facilitation, contraband enforcement and revenue collection.[3]

Notes

  1. ↑ http://app.mfa.gov.sg/pr/read_content.asp?View,1763,
  2. ↑ http://www.customs.gov.sg/topNav/abo/History.htm
  3. ↑ "Singapore Customs Organisational Structure". Singapore Customs. Retrieved 6 January 2011. 

External links

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