The role of the department then was to take over the collection of duties leviable on opium and alcoholic liquors and spirits previously collected under the Opium and Spirits Farm Systems. The department also had to implement the provisions of the Chandu and Liquors Ordinances.
The Government Monopolies Department was renamed the Excise Department in 1935. The change reflected the decreasing emphasis on revenue derived from the chandu monopoly and the increasing reliance of the government on the revenue derived from the duties on tobacco, petroleum and intoxicating liquors. The emphasis on the excise concept reflected the importance of locally-made liquors as a source of revenue.
The department was renamed Department of Customs and Excise, used interchangeably with the Customs and Excise Department. The designation of its head was amended to Comptroller of Customs, and then Comptroller of Customs and Excise in 1966.
In 1932, the revenue collected from opium alone reached $5.9 million. However, the social cost of opium consumption proved too high as opium consumption was linked to crime, violence and the breakdown of the family unit. On 1 April 1946, the importation, exportation, purchase and sale of opium were banned.
To suppress the smuggling of contraband and the illicit distilling of samsoo, which is a type of medicinal liquor, the department operated six customs stations throughout the island. Illicit distilling of samsoo posed a threat to revenue and the local industry. In addition, the quality of samsoo and the hygiene level during production could not be ascertained. The first customs station at Tampines began its operations in 1949. Five stations were opened subsequently and they were Changi in 1950, Tuas in 1963, Kangkar in 1965 and Lim Chu Kang in 1969.
As a small island with limited natural resources, Singapore depended heavily on trade. To support Singapore's industrialisation efforts in the 60s, protective duties were imposed on goods other than liquor and tobacco. The first protective duty was imposed on soap to support the hard soap industry in September 1960. Subsequently, more protective duties were introduced as Singapore's industry developed. At its peak in 1969, a total of 398 items were subject to duty. However, the number of protective duties in Singapore decreased as Singapore's industries began to establish themselves locally and abroad.
In 1969, as one of the initiatives to facilitate entrepot trade, Singapore introduced the Free Trade Zones (FTZs) concept. FTZs are located at the port areas with minimal customs formalities as long as goods remain in the FTZs. Although Customs plays a regulatory role to safeguard revenue collection as well as to control prohibited goods, it also exercises sufficient flexibility so as to not hinder the smooth flow of trade.
From 1983, customs tariffs were progressively reduced to promote trade and to liberalise our market.
In mid 1980s, computerisation of functions and work procedures was introduced to enable speedier customs clearance, computation and collection of duties, as well as compilation of statistics, in order to cope with the increasing volume of trade. The computerisation of the department began with the development of the TradeNet® system, which was implemented in 1989. TradeNet® , the world's first electronic, nationwide, paperless trade facilitation and documentation system, allows permits to be processed electronically between traders, Customs and the Controlling Agencies within minutes.
The role of promoting a more liberal trade environment became more significant in the 1990s as world trade grew. To promote the interests of Singapore's trade in multilateral and regional trade fora, Customs increasingly represented Singapore in negotiations within organisations such as WTO, ASEAN, APEC and ASEM.
The department first implemented the dual Red and Green Channel system for the clearance of passengers and containerised cargo in 1991, and for the clearance of conventional cargo in 1993. This system results in more expeditious clearance and better flow of passenger and cargo traffic through the entry checkpoints as customs officers adopt risk management techniques in selecting passengers and cargoes for checks at the Green Channel.
With the introduction of GST in 1994, all but four items were removed from the dutiable goods list: tobacco, petroleum, intoxicating liquor and motor vehicles. In the same year, the Bonded Warehouse Scheme and the Tourist Refund Scheme were introduced. The Bonded Warehouse Scheme is meant for temporary storage of goods with GST suspended and the Tourist Refund Scheme involves the refund of GST to tourists for gifts and personal effects purchased in Singapore.
Customs implemented the ACCESS (Advance Clearance for Courier and Express Shipments) system in 1994 to facilitate the pre-clearance of air express shipments. With this system, Air Express Companies (AECs) are able to submit shipment information electronically to Customs and receive the pre-clearance inspection advice in advance, resulting in faster clearance at the checkpoints.
In line with the national move towards E-Government, the department began a programme to increase the use of IT in service delivery, in particular to convert manual application processes to electronic filing via the Customs website. All E-filing applications are now web-based and easily accessible. Registered businesses and members of the public with Internet access are able to transact with Customs via E-filing anytime and from anywhere.
The department implemented a paperless clearance system for containers at all checkpoints from Aug 1999. With this system, hauliers do not need to produce hardcopies of cargo clearance permits to Customs, resulting in faster clearance time.
Singapore Customs, a reconstituted department consisting of the revenue enforcement and trade documentation section of the former Customs and Excise Department (CED) and the trade facilitation functions of the Trade Facilitation Division and Statistics Audit Unit of International Enterprise Singapore (IE Singapore), was formed on 1 Apr 2003. Checkpoint functions were transferred into a single Immigration and Checkpoints Authority, also formed on 1 Apr 2003.
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