Penalty on making incorrect declarations and on falsifying documents
128.—(1) Any person who —
(a)
makes, orally or in writing, or signs any declaration, certificate or other document required by this Act, which is untrue or incorrect in any particular or which is incomplete by omitting any material particular therefrom;
(b)
makes, orally or in writing, or signs any declaration or document, made for consideration of any officer of customs on any application presented to him, which is untrue or incorrect in any particular or which is incomplete by omitting any material particular therefrom;
(c)
counterfeits or falsifies, or uses, when counterfeited or falsified, any document which is or may be required under this Act or any document used in the transaction of any business or matter relating to customs;
(d)
being required by this Act to make a declaration of the value of dutiable goods imported into or manufactured in Singapore for the purpose of assessment of customs duty or excise duty, fails to make the declaration as required or makes such declaration which is untrue or incorrect in any particular or which is incomplete by omitting any material particular therefrom;
(e)
fraudulently alters any document, or counterfeits the seal, signature, initials or other mark of, or used by, any officer of customs for the verification of any such document or for the security of any goods or any other purpose in the conduct of business relating to customs;
(f)
being required by this Act to make a declaration of dutiable goods imported, exported or transhipped, fails to make the declaration as required; or
(g)
fails or refuses to produce to a proper officer of customs any document required to be produced under section 90,
shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or the equivalent of the exact amount of customs duty, excise duty or tax payable, whichever is the greater, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both.
[23/93; 24/96; 33/2000]
(2) When any such declaration, whether oral or written, or any such certificate or other document as is referred to in subsection (1)(a), (b), (c) and (d) has been proved to be untrue or incorrect or incomplete or counterfeited or falsified in whole or in part, it shall be no defence to allege —
(a)
that the declaration, certificate or other document was made or used inadvertently or without criminal or fraudulent intent, or that the person signing the same was not aware of, or did not understand the contents of, the document; or
(b)
where the declaration was made or recorded in English by interpretation from any other language, that the declaration was misinterpreted or not fully interpreted by any interpreter provided by the declarant.
(3) When a failure to make a declaration as referred to in subsection (1)(f) has been proved, it shall be no defence to allege that the failure was inadvertent or without criminal or fraudulent intent or that it was not known that such a declaration is required to be made.