CUSTOMS (AMENDMENT) BILL

Order for Second Reading read.

The Minister for Finance (Dr Richard Hu Tsu Tau): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

The Bill seeks to amend the Customs Act to provide for a customs station along the railway line, in lieu of the Singapore Railway Station at Keppel Road, as the place of import or export by rail. It also amends the Customs Act to include Tuas Checkpoint as an additional customs station.

Rationale

Currently, the Customs Act provides for Singapore customs clearance of dutiable goods by rail to be carried out at the Singapore Railway Station at Keppel Road. The Bill replaces this with a general provision for Singapore customs clearance by rail to be carried out at a station to be designated. This will provide flexibility in the designation of a customs station and obviate the need to change the Customs Act for such a purpose. Further, as the Customs Act already allows the flexibility to designate the customs station for import and export by air or sea, this change will also rationalize the expressions for the place of import and export by the various modes of transport.

From 1st August 1998, the Singapore Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) clearance facilities will be relocated from the Keppel Road Train Station to the Woodlands Train Checkpoint. Following the amendment to the Customs Act, we will proceed to designate and gazette the Woodlands Train Checkpoint as the new customs station for Singapore customs clearance in lieu of the Keppel Road Train Station.

The Customs (Amendment) Bill also provides for an additional customs station at Tuas for the import and export by road, which can be done only via the road checkpoints, namely, the Woodlands Checkpoint and Tuas Checkpoint. Proposed Amendments

The Bill makes the following amendments to the Customs Act:

(a) to amend sections 3, 31, 34, 37, 39, 41, 45 and 52 to provide that dutiable goods must be imported or exported by rail at a customs station along the railway to be designated, and that goods on arrival at that customs station cannot be removed except in accordance with a permit issued by the Director-General.

(b) to amend sections 34 and 37 to provide for an additional customs station at Tuas for goods imported or exported by road.

Sir, I beg to move.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House.

The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. - [Dr Richard Hu Tsu Tau].

Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed.