Registration of Imports and Exports Act
(CHAPTER 270)

(Original Enactment: Ordinance 18 of 1934)

REVISED EDITION 1985
(30th March 1987)
An Act relating to the registration of imports and exports.
[18th May 1934]
Short title
1.  This Act may be cited as the Registration of Imports and Exports Act.
Interpretation
2.  In this Act unless there is something repugnant in the subject or context —
“aircraft” includes any kind of craft which may be used for the conveyance of goods by air;
“Board” means the Trade Development Board established under section 3 of the Trade Development Board Act [Cap. 330]*;
*  References formerly in this Act to the Registrar of Imports and Exports are, in this edition, replaced by references to the Board, in accordance with section 18(2) of the Trade Development Board Act (Cap. 300).
“conveyance” means a vessel, train, road vehicle or aircraft, carrying goods;
“goods” includes all kinds of movable or personal property including animals;
“goods in transit” includes goods imported from a place outside Singapore and intended for conveyance through Singapore to any place beyond Singapore;
“tranship” means to remove goods from one conveyance to another for the purpose of exporting the goods from Singapore;
“vessel” includes any kind of craft which may be used for the conveyance of goods by water.
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Rules
3.—(1)  The Minister may make rules for the registration of all goods imported into, exported from, transhipped in, or in transit through, Singapore.
(2)  Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), such rules may be made with regard to any of the following matters:
(a)imposing on importers, exporters, agents, forwarding agents, consignors or consignees of goods or on owners, agents, masters or persons in charge of vessels, aircraft or other means of transport —
(i)the duty to furnish —
(A)to the Board; and
(B)to the owner, agent, master or person in charge of a vessel, aircraft or other means of transport, or to a railway station-master or to such other person as may be prescribed,
such particulars of, or explanations or documents regarding, goods imported into, exported from, transhipped in, or in transit through, Singapore as may be prescribed; and
(ii)the duty to produce for the inspection of the Board such documents as may be prescribed regarding those goods;
(b)permitting the Board to authorise, in such manner as may be prescribed, the importation, exportation, transhipment or transit of goods regarding which the required particulars, explanations or documents have been furnished or produced;
(c)prohibiting the importation, exportation, transhipment or transit of goods, or the delivery of goods or of documents regarding those goods, except in compliance with the rules and with the authority of the Board;
(d)requiring the owner or agent of any vessel or aircraft or other means of transport to furnish particulars of coal, oil or other fuel or stores placed on board that vessel or aircraft in Singapore;
(e)prescribing the forms in which the required particulars and explanations shall be furnished;
(f)prescribing the time within which the required particulars, explanations or documents shall be furnished or produced;
(g)requiring the master of any junk, tongkang or similar Asian vessel to attend at the office of the Board or Port Master, and to furnish such particulars and explanations, and to produce such documents, as may be prescribed;
(h)prohibiting the issue of a port clearance to the master of any junk, tongkang or similar Asian vessel, pending compliance with the rules; and
(i)exempting any particular vessel or aircraft or other means of transport or any class of vessels or aircraft or other means of transport or any class of goods, from the operation of any rules.
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*  Section 3 in the 1970 Edition was repealed by Act 29 of 1982.
Publication of rules, etc.
4.—(1)  Rules made by the Minister under this Act shall be published in the Gazette and shall be presented to Parliament as soon as possible after publication.
(2)  Rules made under this section shall not come into operation until approved by a resolution of Parliament at some meeting thereof subsequent to the meeting when they were presented to Parliament.
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Power to open and examine packages
5.—(1)  When the Board has reason to suspect that any particulars, explanation or document furnished in pursuance of any rules made under this Act are inaccurate, any package to which the particulars, explanation or document refer may be opened and examined by the Board or by any person specially authorised thereto in writing by the Board.
(2)  For the purpose of examination under subsection (1), the Board may require the importer or exporter to deposit the package at any customs station of the Customs and Excise Department.
(3)  The cost of such deposit and subsequent removal shall be borne by the importer or exporter if the particulars, explanations or documents furnished (or any of them) are found to be substantially inaccurate.
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Returns not to be published or disclosed
6.—(1)  Subject to subsection (3), no particulars, explanation or document furnished, and no answer to any question put, for the purposes of this Act shall be published without the previous consent in writing of the person having the control, management or superintendence of the goods in relation to which the same was furnished or given; and, except for the purposes of a prosecution under this Act or under the Consumer Protection (Trade Descriptions and Safety Requirements) Act [Cap. 53], no person who is not engaged in connection with the registration of imports and exports under this Act shall be permitted to see any such particulars, explanation or document.
(2)  Notwithstanding subsection (1), it shall be lawful for the Board to supply statements of daily imports and exports to the Singapore International Chamber of Commerce, which may lawfully publish those statements.
(3)  If any importer or exporter objects in writing to the disclosure of his name and of particulars of his imports or exports, those particulars shall be included under a general heading entitled Traders or similar appellation, and communicated to the Singapore International Chamber of Commerce in such a manner that individual information is not disclosed.
(4)  Every individual engaged in connection with the registration of imports and exports under this Act shall be required to make a declaration that he will not disclose or, except for the purposes of this Act or of the Consumer Protection (Trade Descriptions and Safety Requirements) Act, make use of the contents of any such particulars, explanation or document, or any such answer as aforesaid; and any person who knowingly acts in contravention of any declaration which he has so made shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction before a District Court to a fine not exceeding $2,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or to both.
(5)  If any person, having possession of any information which to his knowledge has been disclosed in contravention of this section, publishes or communicates to any other person any such information, he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction before a District Court to a fine not exceeding $2,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or to both.
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Penalties on conviction
7.—(1)  Every person who contravenes or fails to comply with the provisions of any rules made under this Act, or wilfully makes any false or misleading statement, written or oral, with respect to any matter dealt with by this Act or by any rules made thereunder shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $1,000.
Power of Board to compound offences
(2)  The Board may, by order, compound any offence punishable under this section.
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Indemnity
8.  Nothing done in good faith and without gross negligence by any officer of the Government in the course of his duty under this Act or any rules made thereunder shall give rise to any cause of action or claim for compensation.
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Officers to be deemed public servants
9.  The Board and all persons authorised under section 5(1) shall be deemed to be public servants within the meaning of the Penal Code [Cap. 224].
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