A 48-year-old Singaporean man has been sentenced over a multi-year scheme involving undervalued imported vehicles, which led to more than S$1.2 million in duty and GST being evaded and nearly S$10 million less in Additional Registration Fee being paid.
The man, Mah Chee Wern, was the sole director of Karkaunsl Leasing at the time of the offences, according to 8world, citing a joint statement by Singapore Customs and the Land Transport Authority on Thursday, 1 October.
The offences involved 866 motor vehicles imported between January 2017 and February 2022.
Mah was fined more than S$4.86 million for fraudulent evasion of duty and GST. As he did not pay the fine, he will serve about four years and seven months’ jail in default.
He was also sentenced to jail terms for falsifying payment records and under-declaring vehicle values at the point of registration.
How the Scheme Worked
According to the authorities, Singapore Customs started investigating after detecting differences in the declared values of vehicles submitted by Karkaunsl Leasing.
Investigations found that Mah had instructed overseas suppliers to issue invoices showing lower vehicle values.
Those invoices were then used for duty and GST assessment.
This allowed Karkaunsl Leasing to pay less duty and GST while keeping a profit of about S$800 to S$1,500 for each vehicle, according to media reports citing the authorities.
Karkaunsl Leasing also acted as an import agent for Hybrid Vehicle Singapore, or HVS.
In those cases, HVS allegedly liaised with overseas suppliers to get invoices with suppressed values, while Karkaunsl Leasing used the invoices for Customs declarations despite knowing the declared values were lower than the actual values.
Why ARF Was Also Affected
This was not just a Customs issue.
In Singapore, the Additional Registration Fee, or ARF, is a tax paid when a vehicle is registered. It is calculated based on a percentage of the vehicle’s Open Market Value, or OMV.
The OMV is assessed by Singapore Customs and takes into account the purchase price, freight, insurance and other costs involved in bringing the vehicle into Singapore.
So if a vehicle’s declared value is understated, it can affect both the duty and GST paid at import, as well as the ARF payable when the vehicle is registered.
In Mah’s case, the authorities said the incorrect declarations led to an ARF shortfall of more than S$9.9 million.
He was sentenced to 21 weeks’ jail for under-declaring vehicle values at registration.
False Payment Records Were Also Involved
Mah also admitted to falsifying payment records submitted to Singapore Customs.
He was sentenced to another two weeks’ jail for that offence.
According to reports, he pleaded guilty to multiple charges under the Customs Act, with other charges taken into consideration for sentencing.
A former director of HVS, Su May Thu, had earlier been dealt with in a related matter.
The 36-year-old Myanmar national was fined S$418,300 in July 2025 after admitting to fraudulent evasion of duty and GST involving 34 vehicles.
Authorities Say They Take Such Offences Seriously
The case shows why imported vehicle values matter beyond just paperwork.
For most car buyers, the painful part of buying a car is usually the COE.
But before a vehicle even reaches that stage, its declared value affects duties, GST and ARF. In Singapore’s car market, where every line item already looks like it has been through a gym programme, small-looking declarations can snowball into very large sums.
Authorities said offenders who evade duty or GST can face heavy fines, jail, or both.
Under Singapore Customs’ rules, the customs value of a motor vehicle is used to calculate excise duty and GST. For new vehicles, this value is generally based on the price paid or payable, with relevant costs such as freight and insurance added where applicable.
