S'porean company director, 59, fined over S$1 million for evading duty & GST on vehicles imported into S'pore

A 59-year-old Singaporean director of Concordway Pte Ltd (Concordway) was fined S$1,068,000 by the State Courts on Apr. 24, 2026, for fraudulent evasion of duty.

Thiyambarawatta Subash Indrajith had declared suppressed values for 34 motor vehicles imported into Singapore between October 2018 and February 2024.

He was also sentenced to two months' jail for under-declaring the values of motor vehicles at the point of registration with the Land Transport Authority (LTA).

Customs offences

According to a May 5, 2026, joint media release by the Singapore Customs and Land Transport Authority (LTA), Subash has until May 25, 2026, to pay the fine for his Customs offences.

He will serve 12 months and two weeks' imprisonment in default if he fails to pay the fine by then.

This comes after Subash pleaded guilty to nine charges under the Customs Act.

They include three charges for fraudulent evasion of duty and six charges for abetment by intentionally aiding in the making of untrue declarations to fraudulently evade duty.

These charges involved evading duty amounting to about S$161,251, the release noted, adding that 10 other charges were taken into consideration during sentencing.

This includes four charges for fraudulent evasion of Goods and Services Tax (GST), and six charges for abetment by intentionally aiding in the making of untrue declarations to fraudulently evade GST.

Under-declaring values

In addition, his two-month jail sentence comes after he under-declared the values of motor vehicles, resulting in the underpayment of the Additional Registration Fee (ARF).

Subash pleaded guilty to three amalgamated charges under section 11(9) of the Road Traffic Act for providing incorrect information in relation to the value of 21 motor vehicles.

The release noted that three similar amalgamated charges involving another eight motor vehicles were taken into consideration during sentencing.

These incorrect declarations resulted in a total ARF shortfall of S$1,069,595, and the Court ordered Subash to repay the outstanding amount to LTA.

False invoices

Concordway is an importer of motor vehicles from overseas suppliers in Japan and the United Kingdom, the release noted, adding that the company also provided services to individuals wishing to source and import their motor vehicles from overseas suppliers through Subash's contacts.

After an individual importer of a Porsche 718 Cayman Style Edition submitted documents stating a suspiciously low declared value, Singapore Customs (Customs) started investigating.

Officers searched Subash's residence based on information from the importer.

Subash admitted that in assisting clients to import vehicles for commissions of S$3,000 to S$4,000, he liaised with overseas suppliers to provide invoices with suppressed values significantly lower than the actual vehicle prices.

These false invoices were then submitted to Customs as supporting documents for their import.

Conceal money trail

The release noted that Payments were split into two transactions to conceal the money trail, where a "Suppressed Payment" corresponded to the declared value, and a "Balance Payment" was the difference between the actual and declared values.

To avoid detection, Subash would often remit lump sums to overseas suppliers covering Balance Payments for multiple vehicles.

Penalties

According to the release, under the Customs Act, any person convicted of being involved in the fraudulent evasion of any duty or GST on imported goods shall be liable to a fine of up to 20 times the amount of duty, and GST evaded and/or up to two years' jail.

Under the Road Traffic Act, any person convicted of giving incorrect information in relation to any matter affecting the amount of ARF chargeable shall be liable to a fine not exceeding S$10,000 or to a jail term not exceeding six months, with the maximum penalty doubled for amalgamated charges under s124(8) of the Criminal Procedure Code.

The court shall also order the payment of any under-charged ARF to LTA.

Members of the public with information on smuggling activities, or duty or GST evasion may report it to Customs online.