Regulation of Imports and Exports Act 1995

Regulation of Imports
and Exports Act 1995

2020 REVISED EDITION

This revised edition incorporates all amendments up to and including 1 December 2021 and comes into operation on 31 December 2021

An Act to provide for the regulation, registration and control of imports and exports and to make provisions for matters connected therewith.

[1 December 1995]

PART 1

PRELIMINARY

Short title

1. This Act is the Regulation of Imports and Exports Act 1995.

Interpretation

2.—(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires —

“aircraft” means aircraft of any description which may be used for the conveyance of persons or goods by air;

“authentication code” means any identification or identifying code, password or any other authentication method or procedure which has been assigned to a registered user of the computer service mentioned in section 8 for the purpose of identifying and authenticating the access to and use of the computer service by the registered user;

“authorised officer” means —

(a)	any officer of customs;
(b)	any senior authorised officer;
(c)	any officer of the Board appointed in writing by the Director‑General; or
(d)	any officer or class or description of officers appointed by the Minister by notification in the Gazette to exercise the powers and perform the duties conferred and imposed on an authorised officer by this Act;

“Board” means the Enterprise Singapore Board established by section 3 of the Enterprise Singapore Board Act 2018;

“conveyance” includes any vessel, train, vehicle or aircraft in which persons or goods can be carried;

“database report” means any automatic log, journal or other report which is automatically generated by the computer service mentioned in section 8 for the purposes of recording the details of a transaction relating to an electronic notice including the authentication code, date and time of receipt, storage location and any alteration or deletion relating to the notice;

“Director-General” means the Director-General of Customs appointed under section 4(1) of the Customs Act 1960;

“electronic notice” has the meaning given by section 8(1);

“examination station” means any place which has been prescribed under section 143(1)(d) of the Customs Act 1960 as a customs office or customs station for the examination of goods or any place or premises as may be determined by a senior authorised officer for the examination of goods;

“export” means to take or cause to be taken out of Singapore by land, water or air and includes the placing of any goods in a conveyance for the purpose of the goods being taken out of Singapore but does not include the taking out from Singapore of any goods on the same conveyance on which they were brought into Singapore unless such goods after being brought into Singapore have been landed or transhipped within Singapore;

“goods” means any movable or personal property whatsoever but does not include choses in action and money (except for a collector’s piece, an investment article or item of numismatic interest and currency notes imported or exported in substantial quantities);

“import” means to bring or cause to be brought into Singapore by land, water or air from any place which is outside Singapore but does not include the bringing into Singapore of goods which are to be taken out of Singapore on the same conveyance on which they were brought into Singapore without any landing or transhipment within Singapore;

“master” includes every person, having or taking command or charge of a vessel, except a pilot of a vessel holding a licence under the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore Act 1996 when acting in the course of his or her duties;

“officer of customs” has the meaning given by the Customs Act 1960;

“pilot of an aircraft” means every person having or taking command or charge of an aircraft;

“police officer” means any member of the Singapore Police Force;

“registered user” means a person who has been registered with and authorised by the Director-General to gain access to and use the computer service mentioned in section 8;

“relevant decision of the United Nations Security Council” means any decision of the United Nations Security Council in resolutions made under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations signed at San Francisco on 26 June 1945;

“senior authorised officer” means —

(a)	any senior officer of customs;
(b)	any officer of the Board appointed in writing by the Director‑General;
(c)	any police officer; or
(d)	any officer or class or description of officers appointed by the Minister by notification in the Gazette to exercise the powers and perform the duties conferred and imposed on a senior authorised officer by this Act;

“senior officer of customs” has the meaning given by the Customs Act 1960;

“shipped as ships’ stores” means loaded for use as stores on a voyage or flight to or from a destination outside Singapore or as merchandise for sale by retail to persons carried on such voyage or flight in a ship or an aircraft;

“tranship” means to remove goods from one conveyance to another for the purpose of taking them out of Singapore;

“transit” means to bring goods into Singapore from a place outside Singapore for the purpose of taking them out of Singapore on the same conveyance on which they were brought into Singapore;

“vehicle” includes any vehicle in which persons or goods can be carried by land however drawn or propelled or set or kept in motion;

“vessel” includes any ship or boat or other description of vessel used in navigation.

[6/2003; 17/2002; 10/2018; 16/2018]

(2) In this Act, any reference to a document or record includes, in addition to a document or record on paper, a reference to any, or part of any —

(a)	document or record kept on any magnetic, optical, chemical or other medium;
(b)	photograph;
(c)	map, plan, graph, picture or drawing; or
(d)	film (including a microfilm and a microfiche), negative, disc, tape, soundtrack or any other device in which one or more visual images, sounds or other data are embodied so as to be capable (with or without the aid of some other equipment) of being reproduced therefrom.

(3) In this Act, any reference to a document or record in writing or the making of a document or record in writing, unless the context otherwise requires, includes any electronic notice, or the making, serving or submitting of such a notice under the provisions of this Act or any regulations made under this Act.

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