Beginning June 3, Singapore Customs is requiring companies and individuals to submit voluntary disclosures of customs violations electronically, the agency said in a May 15 notice. Traders must now fill out the application form online instead of faxing or emailing a copy, it said. Singapore Customs also said the submission must include by attachment a “cargo clearance permit, air waybill or bill of lading, packing list/purchase order/delivery order, commercial Invoice and any other relevant documents.” The notice includes a frequently-asked-question appendix on the topic.

India again delayed retaliatory tariffs on goods imported from the U.S., pushing the new start to June 16, according to a notice from India’s Ministry of Finance. The tariffs, first announced in May 2018, will target agricultural products, motorcycles, steel products, and phosphoric and boric acid, and are aimed at offsetting the $241 million in duties India expects its U.S. customers to pay on its steel and aluminum exports. The tariffs have been delayed multiple times after they were originally expected to take effect in June 2018. Many of the items already face high tariffs -- walnuts are taxed at 100 percent, fresh apples at 50 percent, chickpeas at 60 percent, motorcycles at 100 percent -- but the actions would add 10 percent more to many ag products, 20 percent more to walnuts and almonds, and 50 percent more to motorcycles.

Singapore Customs arrested three Chinese nationals who were driving Singapore-registered trucks with a total of more than 9,000 cartons of smuggled cigarettes, according to a May 10 notice. The shipment, split into two trucks at separate locations, evaded more than a combined $930,000 in Singapore’s duties and Goods and Services Tax, the notice said. Violators of the customs duty and GST laws can be fined up to 40 times the amount of evaded duties and tax, and could have a maximum six-year prison sentence added.

Indonesia is expanding the list of exports services subject to a 0 percent value-added tax rate, according to a May 10 notice from KPMG. The rate will apply to a variety of broad export-related services, including freight forwarding, rental of transportation equipment for international shipping, technology and information services, business and management consulting services, trading services and communications data services, KPMG said. The broadening of the list of services to which the rate is applied is "with the basic understanding that these services must be utilized offshore," KPMG said. In a May report, KPMG said the move is part of an effort by Indonesia to boost growth in its export sector. The new list, effective March 29, 2019, replaces the old set of regulations, which only covered three export services, KPMG said: “contract manufacturing, repairs and maintenance and construction services.”

U.S. beef producers exporting to Singapore must now have their goods evaluated and approved by the Singapore Food Agency, according to a report published April 30 and posted May 9 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service. Singapore’s Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority “restructured” to form the SFA and the Animal and Veterinary Service (AVS), USDA said. That change took effect April 1.

Japan has requested World Trade Organization consultations with India, accusing it of imposing tariffs “inconsistent” with the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and “in excess” of its WTO commitments, Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Industry and Trade said in a May 10 notice. Japan said India raised tariffs on various products, including information and communications technology products, nine times since 2014, calling them violations of the WTO and GATT. Japan said it has “repeatedly” asked India to withdraw the tariffs during trade talks and WTO committees, but “the two sides have been unable to settle the dispute.” Japan specifically mentioned tariffs on six products that it disputes: “feature phones,” smartphones, “base stations” for cell phones, “digital microwave communication equipment,” “printed-circuit board assemblies” and LCD modules for smartphones.

Singapore announced a $109,000 fine on the former director of a freight forwarding company after he pleaded guilty to 26 charges of making false customs declarations, Singapore Customs announced in a May 9 notice. If Lim Boon Kheng, former director of Akarui Pte Ltd., is unable or unwilling to pay the fines, he faces nearly two years in prison, the notice said.

Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry updated its “end-user list” to provide exporters information on “foreign entities” that may be involved in weapons proliferation. The update last month added five entities to the list “for which concern cannot be eliminated regarding involvement” in weapons of mass destruction, the ministry said in a notice. Exporters must submit applications for goods that may be used for the development of weapons of mass destruction “even if they are not subject to export restrictions under international agreements,” the notice said.

The Philippines Bureau of Customs recently issued guidelines on appeals procedures for merchandise it declares abandoned. After BOC issues an order of abandonment, the “aggrieved party” may file an appeal with the district office within 15 days of receipt of the order. The district collector then has five days to decide the appeal, and another two to transmit to the commissioner of customs notice of the final decision. That decision is subject to protest. Once the order becomes final, “the subject shipments shall be immediately disposed by the concerned District Collector,” the notice said.

The Philippines Bureau of Customs recently issued guidance on the processing, approval and payment of duty drawback, refund and abatement, BOC said in a May 7 press release. The new guidelines loosen restrictions on cash refund payments, and provide that tax credit certificates may not be assigned or transferred. The guidance also codifies “all existing rules and regulations pertaining to Duty Drawback, Refund and Abatement in the BOC, consistent with the provisions of the” Customs Modernization and Tariff Act, enacted by the Philippines in 2016.