Control of Imports and Exports Act

“aircraft” includes aircraft of any description, not having the status of a war aircraft;

“authorised officer” means —

“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 Controller 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. 330).

“contravention” includes, in relation to any provision, a failure to comply with that provision;

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

“examination station” means any place or premises appointed by the Minister by notification in the Gazette to be an examination station for the purposes of this Act;

“export”, with its grammatical variations and cognate expressions, 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 vessel, conveyance or aircraft for the purpose of the goods being taken out of Singapore by water or air but does not include the taking out of Singapore by water or air of any goods on the same vessel or aircraft on which they were brought into Singapore unless after being brought into Singapore the goods have been landed or transhipped within Singapore;

“goods” means any movable or personal property whatsoever;

“import”, with its grammatical variations and cognate expressions, 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 by water or air of any goods which it is proved to be intended to be taken out of Singapore on the same vessel or aircraft 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 Port of Singapore Authority Act [Cap. 236] when acting in the course of his duties;

“offence” means an offence under this Act and includes any contravention of any order declared to be an offence by any such order;

“order” means an order made under section 3;

“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;

“senior authorised officer” means —

“shipped as ships’ stores”, with its grammatical variations and cognate expressions, includes loaded as the stores of an aircraft;

“tranship” means to remove goods from one vessel or aircraft to another vessel or aircraft for the purpose of export;

“vehicle” includes any conveyance 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, not having the status of a ship of war.

The Minister may by order provide —

All orders made under this section shall be published in the Gazette and shall be presented to Parliament as soon as possible after publication and if a resolution is passed pursuant to a motion notice whereof has been given for a sitting day not later than the first available sitting day of Parliament next after the expiry of one month from the date when the orders are so presented annulling the orders or any part thereof as from a specified date, the orders or such part thereof, as the case may be, shall thereupon become void as from that date but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder or to the making of new orders.[4** Section 3 in the 1970 Edition was repealed by Act 29 of 1982.

Cancellation, suspension or variation of the conditions of any licence or permit, issued by virtue of an order, may be effected by endorsement thereof on the licence or permit, or by service of a written notice of the cancellation, suspension or variation on the holder of the licence or permit, and any such service shall be good service if the written notice is left with the holder of the licence or permit, or is left with any adult person at the usual or last known place of residence or business of the holder, or is served on the holder by post at his usual or last known place of residence or business, or if, in the case of a permit, it is left with any person having the possession, custody or control of the goods to which the permit relates.

If any such licence or permit is cancelled or suspended the holder thereof shall, unless it has otherwise been lawfully disposed of, forthwith surrender it to the officer by whom it is so cancelled or suspended and, in default thereof, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $1,000.[6

The provisions of orders shall, unless the contrary is expressly stated, be deemed to be additional to, and not in substitution for, the provisions of any other law for the time being in force.

For the avoidance of doubt it is hereby declared that the taking into or out of Singapore of ships or aircraft or vehicles may be prohibited or regulated by an order as an importation or exportation of goods, notwithstanding that the ships, aircraft or vehicles are conveying goods or passengers, and whether or not they are moving under their own power.[7

The holder of any licence or permit issued by virtue of an order under section 3 shall, unless he has already lawfully parted with possession of it produce the licence or permit on demand to any authorised officer.

Any person who fails to comply with this section shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $1,000.[9

A senior authorised officer may seize any goods in respect of which he has reasonable grounds for believing that an offence has been or is being committed.

All such goods shall be delivered as soon as possible into the custody of the Board or of any person authorised by the Board in that behalf and shall be detained in custody pending an order of the court in regard to the disposal thereof made under this Act:Provided that if any property seized is in the opinion of the Board of a perishable nature or consists of an animal or other living creature the Board may at any time direct the sale thereof on such terms and in such manner and at such price as the Board may think fit and the proceeds of the sale shall thereupon be subject to the provisions of this Act as though they were the property seized.[10

The court before which any person is tried for an offence may, whether a conviction is had or not, order the forfeiture of any goods produced before it or seized under this Act in connection with the offence for which the person is tried in respect of which it is satisfied that an offence has been committed.

When any goods have been seized under the provisions of this Act, the Board shall, within a period of one month from the date of the seizure, unless a prosecution has before the expiry of that period been commenced and is pending against any person for an offence in respect of the property so seized, report the fact of the seizure to a District Court and that Court may, if satisfied that an offence has been committed in respect of those goods, order them to be forfeited:Provided that no order shall be made under this section to the prejudice of any person claiming to be the owner of, or to have an interest in, those goods, unless that person has had an opportunity of being heard, either personally or by advocate, by the Court, to show cause why such an order should not be made.[11

A senior authorised officer or an authorised officer acting in accordance with the general or special directions of a senior authorised officer may board any vessel, aircraft or vehicle in Singapore and may rummage and search all parts of the vessel, aircraft or vehicle for goods which may be liable to forfeiture under this Act.

For the more effective exercise of the powers conferred by this section a senior authorised officer may —

An authorised officer may exercise, in respect of any vehicle, or of any vessel not exceeding 50 tons net registered tonnage as defined in the Merchant Shipping Act [Cap. 179], the powers which are conferred upon a senior authorised officer by subsection (2) other than the powers conferred by subsection (2)(d).

It shall be presumed in any proceedings arising out of any thing done under this section, unless the contrary is proved, that any authorised officer, not being a senior authorised officer, by whom the thing was done was acting in accordance with the general or special direction of a senior authorised officer.

If any vessel or aircraft fails to comply with any lawful requisition or direction given under this section, a senior authorised officer may take all such steps as appear to him necessary to secure such compliance.

Where any goods are found concealed or in respect of which any document which ought to be produced is not produced in any vessel or aircraft or which are not shown on any manifest or list required to be produced being goods the import, export, carriage coastwise, shipment as ships’ stores or transhipment of which is prohibited either absolutely or conditionally by any order the goods may be seized by an authorised officer and shall be liable to forfeiture in the same manner as if an offence had been committed in respect thereof.

Any person who contravenes this section, or who fails to comply with any lawful direction or requisition given or made thereunder shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $2,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both.

An officer shall exercise the powers conferred by this section in respect of a vessel under way only if he has reasonable grounds for believing that it is not in transit through Singapore or that any goods on board the vessel are intended to be landed or transhipped in Singapore.[14

Any package, box, chest or other article in regard to which a reasonable suspicion exists that it is being, or is about to be, or has recently been, imported, exported, carried coastwise, shipped as ships’ stores, or transhipped in contravention of the provisions of any order, and which is in Singapore —

Any person who removes, opens, breaks or tampers with any lock, seal or other means of securing any package, box, chest or other article, being a person not lawfully employed in accordance with subsection (1), shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $2,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both.[15

For the more convenient exercise of the powers conferred by sections 14 and 15 an authorised officer may remove any packages, boxes, chests or other articles or any goods to a police station or examination station or may require them to be so removed by the owner thereof or his agent or any person having the custody, charge or control thereof.

Any person who fails to comply with any such requisition shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $2,000.

Upon the failure by a person to comply with such a requisition an authorised officer may remove the goods in the manner provided by subsection (1) and all the expenses of the removal (as certified by the Board) shall be recoverable summarily under section 403 of the Criminal Procedure Code [Cap. 68] from that person or from the owner of the goods.[17

Any person landing or being about to land or having recently landed from any vessel or aircraft, or leaving any vessel or aircraft in Singapore whether for the purpose of landing or otherwise, or entering or having recently entered Singapore by land, water or air, or being about to leave Singapore by land, water or air, shall —

Nothing in this section shall apply to a passenger while he is on board a vessel and in transit through Singapore to a destination outside Singapore.

Any person who refuses to comply with any lawful demand under this section may be arrested without warrant by the officer making the demand.[18

Whenever it appears to any Magistrate or Justice of the Peace upon information and after such inquiry as he may consider necessary that there is probable cause to believe that in any dwelling-house, shop or other building or place there are concealed or deposited any goods or property liable to forfeiture under this Act, the Magistrate or Justice of the Peace may, by warrant directed to any senior authorised officer, empower that officer by day or night to enter that dwelling-house, shop or other building or place and there to search for and take possession of any goods or property reasonably suspected to be so liable to forfeiture and any books, documents or articles which may reasonably be believed to have a bearing on the case.

The senior authorised officer referred to in subsection (1) may if it is necessary to do so —

For the purpose of exercising the powers conferred by sections 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18, an authorised officer or a senior authorised officer, as the case may be, may, without warrant, enter upon any islet, landing place, wharf, dock or quay or upon the premises of the Port of Singapore Authority or upon any railway.

In this section “railway” shall have the meaning assigned to it in the Railways Act [Cap. 263].[21

The Board may require any person by or on whose behalf goods have been, or are in the course of being, or are about to be, imported, exported, carried coastwise, shipped as ships’ stores or transhipped, or any person who is or has been concerned or interested in those goods or in their importation, exportation, carriage coastwise, shipment as ships’ stores or transhipment, to produce such documents and answer such questions and to furnish such information and in such form as the Board may, in its discretion, consider necessary for the effective exercise of its powers and performance of its duties under this Act and under any orders made under section 3.

Any such requisition may be made verbally, or in writing served on the person to whom it is addressed and any such service shall be good service if the requisition is left with the person, or is left with any adult at the usual or last known place of residence or business of the person, or is served on the person by post at his usual or last known place of residence or business.

Every person required to produce any document, answer any question or furnish any information shall produce the document, answer the question or furnish the information within such time as may be stated in the requisition or if no time is so stated within a reasonable time.

Any person who fails without lawful excuse to comply with any requisition under this section shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $2,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both.

Any information given and any answer made to any question put in compliance with this section may be proved in evidence against the person giving or making the same or his principal in any prosecution, notwithstanding that it may tend to criminate the one or the other.[25

No particulars, information 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 given or furnished; and, except for the purposes of a prosecution, no person who is not engaged in connection with the control of imports and exports under this Act shall be permitted to see any such particulars, information or document.

Any person engaged in connection with the control of imports or exports who makes use of, publishes or permits any other person to see or discloses or communicates to any other person the contents of any such particulars, information, answer or document to any other person otherwise than with such consent or for such purposes as are mentioned in subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $2,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or to both.

Any person having possession of any information which to his knowledge has been disclosed, published or communicated in contravention of this section who publishes or communicates that information to any other person shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to the same penalties as are set out in subsection (2).[26

Where any offence is committed by a body corporate any director, manager, secretary or other officer of the body corporate shall also be deemed to be guilty of that offence, and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly unless he proves that the offence was committed without his consent or connivance and was not attributable to any neglect on his part.

Whenever any agent or employee in the course of his employment does or omits to do an act the doing of which or omission to do which by his principal or employer would be an offence the agent or employee shall be guilty of that offence.

In any proceedings jointly against the body corporate and a director or officer thereof for an offence under this Act any evidence that the body corporate was guilty of such an offence shall be deemed to be evidence that the director or officer was guilty of that offence.

Any person who would have been guilty of an offence if anything had been done or omitted by him personally shall be guilty of that offence and liable to the same penalty if that thing has been done or omitted to be done by his partner, agent or employee in the course of the partnership business or in the scope of his employment, as the case may be, unless he proves to the satisfaction of the court that the offence was committed without his knowledge and that he took all reasonable precautions to prevent the doing or omission of the thing.[32

Subject to this section, no evidence as to any written or oral information in respect of any offence alleged to have been committed shall be admitted in evidence in any civil or criminal proceedings whatsoever, and no witness shall be obliged or permitted to disclose the name or address of any informer or state any matter which might lead to the discovery of the identity of any informer.

If any books, documents or papers, which are in evidence or liable to inspection in any civil or criminal proceedings whatsoever, contain any entry in which any informer is named or described or which might lead to the discovery of his identity, the court shall cause all such passages to be concealed from view or to be obliterated so far as may be necessary to prevent the discovery of the identity of the informer but no further.

If, in any civil or criminal proceedings whatsoever, the court, after full inquiry into the case, is of the opinion that the informer wilfully made in any information furnished by him a material statement which he knew or believed to be false or did not believe to be true or the court is of opinion that justice cannot be fully done without the discovery of the identity of the informer, it shall be lawful for the court to require the production of the original information, if in writing, and to permit inquiry and require full disclosure concerning the informer.

For the purposes of this section, “informer” includes every person who is not called as a witness for the prosecution in a criminal case and who has made any complaint or report or furnished any information oral or documentary in respect of any offence alleged to have been committed by any person.[33