An Australian resident has been fined more than $50,000 after Australian Border Force (ABF) officers discovered 8.5kg of undeclared gold jewellery worth more than $1.3 million at Sydney International Airport.
ABF Acting Superintendent Neil Singh said travellers attempting to avoid customs duties were taking a risk, as officers use intelligence and passenger behaviour indicators to identify potential breaches.
“Attempting to evade duty and GST obligations is a serious offence that undermines the integrity of the border system.”
Earlier this month, the man arrived in Sydney on a flight from the United Arab Emirates and was selected by ABF officers for a baggage examination.
Officers found two containers containing the gold jewellery. The passenger had not lodged an import declaration for the goods, despite imported goods valued at more than AUD$1,000 requiring an import declaration when being cleared into home consumption.
According to ABF, the man told officers he was attempting to avoid paying customs duty and deferred GST. The outstanding duties and GST were estimated at almost $209,000.
The gold was held by ABF pending further assessment and referral to the agency’s Trade Intervention Unit. The following day, the traveller was issued an infringement notice totalling $50,448.04 for the undeclared goods.
The penalty was subsequently paid in full, along with the outstanding duties and deferred GST, taking the total amount paid to $259,352.92. The gold jewellery was then released to the passenger.
Singh said travellers were expected to make honest and accurate declarations of dutiable and taxable goods.
“This traveller thought they had a golden opportunity to smuggle their million-dollar goods into the country, but the plan fell in a heap, and they ended up paying a much larger bill.”
ABF warned travellers considering bringing high-value goods into Australia to understand their declaration and import obligations before travelling.
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