penalty for contra-band cigarettes

[blue]

hi expats,
i've just arrived in singapore after my short vacation in bali and brought in 3 cartons of cigarettes.
I went through the "NOTHING 2 DECLARE" gate at the customs and they found the cigarettes and charged me $50 per pack for not declaring the cigarettes, even though it's for personal use and it's my 1st time offence. Anybody knows whether this is the correct amount of fine that one should be paying per pack ( 1 pack = $50 )  for such offence ( 1st time ) ?
I told them that I didn't know before that it's not allowed to bring in cigarettes into Singapore without declaring them at the customs, and I have asked them to just dispose / confiscate the cigarettes but the customs officer said that they still would fine me.
Is this legally correct ?

all info would be much appreciated.

[well now]

seems you got off lightly, apparently a friend of mine is down a $1000 bucks for a similar thing  

[TarLungs]

Yeah, sounds about right.  Ignornace is no excuse.  You are not allowed to bring cigarettes into Singapore.  No different to bringing 3 bottles in if your limit is two.

Next time check ahead and see what the limits are in the country you are flying too.  All duty free shops have these lists.

[smugler]

yes it is about right. Singapore is very strange being the only country were you cannot bring one ounce of tobacco. Yet on your way out of the country, at the duty free, cigs are the cheapest in Asia!
I was stopped in a restaurant near immigration by two morons who had nothing else better to do, they flashed a badge at me, told me they were from customs, wanted to see my pack of cigs (from Thailand). At the time I was here as a tourist, so I told them to fock off (nicely) which they did...But not before lecturing me on cigarettes laws etc....In a few words, if you are caught anywhere , smoking out of a pack of cigarettes , even one half empty, that is not "singaporean" they can ask you to pay taxes on it!
They usually don't do it because this would mean stopping all the  tourists, but it is the law and sometimes they enforce it.
smile!

[fifa]

There is no such thing as for personal use anymore. Ciggies must be declared, and as other posters have mentioned, ignorance is no excuse. Otherwise people will be claiming they didn't know smuggling drugs was illegal.

You definitely got off easy - $50/pack is a light slap on the wrist.

The alcohol/ciggie limits are posted in all the duty free shops.

[dug]

true. a friend also got fined 1000 per carton. he still got the carton now - a souvenir from that event.

[Mrbig]

Best thing to do is keep an empty box from local ciggies and decant your "imported' ones into it.

[Batwoman]

Think they are clamping down on cigarette "smuggling"

I have had 2 friends in the last 3 weeks get fined for bringing in cigarettes, one of them was a Singaporean (she got away with just paying the tax on her few packets but the customs officer said he could also pose a $1,000 fine on her but he would waive it this time)

[Fat Bob]

Too bloody right, I mean, it's posted everywhere in the Duty Free bits, if you get caught hard luck.

They are tough on it because the local packs are so expensive. Tax dollars. Simple. Low income tax, high duty on ciggies, cars and alcohol!

And what other countries allow you to take in 3 cartons? I believe you mean 10 boxs of 20 per carton? So 600 cigs?

[Goonduu]

Ignorance of the law
is no defence my dear.

[A smoker with info4U]

YOU can bring in cigarrettes BUT you have to pay DUTY on them . Go thru the red channel show them or tell them you have a carton and they will charge you S$48 per carton and give you a receipt, keep that at all times till U finish your carton.
I buy my cigs. before leaving singapore and on return declare them and there is NO Problem.
It is when you lie, be deceitful then you are in BIG S***T.A carton in the DF costs about $16 and duty , still works out better as the quality is good.

[skank]

I've walked thru the nothing to declare channel at Changyi no less than 150-200 times over the past 8 years & nobody has ever even looked at me. As far as I know almost everybody I know same story.

Do they randomly search? Is is a racial thing? Blue where are you from or ?

Are you Singaporean? We find in the USA customs is hardest on returning citizens but lighter on tourists.

Not trying to make any point I'm just curious here.

[cigafagaroony]

what's the point in clamping down on duty free fags when they sell them in the DF shop here!!!  Talk about double standards - they don't mind you filling their tills with cash for your fags to take to another country, but not to come here!  

So if you bought fags here, whilst on your way home to wherever, then didn't smoke them all and came back with them, would you get charged for it?

or is that what somebody meant by keeping the receipts?

[fifa]

It's called profiling. Customs targets specific flights/routes, and look out for specific demographics. In fact, even before you get off the plane, airport security already has an idea of who they might want to screen.

Thailand and Indonesia have historically been of particular interest. They don't just target guys. I've seen women screened as well.

And of course, there are always random checks.

[WolfgangHolzem]

I haven't got court yet but I am buying them anyway on Arab Street with a 50% discount. (Shipped in from Batam).