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I am asking this question here because I found most of the information provided in other forums very confusing. First of all I will be travelling to singapore for a week.

I will be visiting some kids and so will be carrying toys for them. A plushy for a baby girl and a DIY star wars model fighter for a boy, I might get him a lightsaber as well. This website suggests that items resembling weapons are also subject to control. So first,

  1. Does a DIY fighter jet and fictional light up swords from a sci-fi movie franchise qualify as weapon souvenirs?

Second, I have come to understand the duty-free allowance on liquor is either,

  1. 1 spirit, 1 wine, 1 beer
  2. 0 spirit, 2 wine, 1 beer
  3. 0 spirit, 1 wine, 2 beer

Posts on this website provide conflicting views saying that I should buy everything after checkin or else it will be confiscated. I live in Italy, so obviously I will buy much cheaper and better wine from the local market here, I don't want to buy overpriced branded bottles from the duty free.

  1. Is it true? Can I buy alcohol within the limit from the local market and put it in my check-in baggage or should I go for duty free bottles?

Third, the AVA website, notifies people of the allowed food categories and countries, so I will be picking up pork salsiccia from here alongside some cheese, which as per guidelines is within the regulations.

The allowed concessions as listed by the AVA website is 100 SGD. I am assuming this is on the food products + alocohol.

  1. Can someone confirm this?
  2. How do you determine something is above or below 100 SGD? Do you just convert the declared value from EUR to SGD?

My final question, do the gifts for the kids and other persons figure into some sort of valuation or are they exempt from valuation? I know in my gut that it cannot be so. I must be missing some key information here.

As such because after a month of research I am still unable to understand what is allowed and what is inside my allowance I plan on going through the red channel anyways and declare everything.

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  • If stuff is confiscated at check in in Italy, then that's nothing to do with Singapore custom rules.
    – CMaster
    Aug 22, 2016 at 11:01
  • @CMaster I am not hopping, I'm leaving Italy. I don't think customs will stop me there. or will they? Aug 22, 2016 at 11:03
  • @FoldedChromatin my broader point is that whether you buy it before flying or in the airport "duty free", it will have to go through Singaporean customs, and they won't care which you purchased it at. I've come across various people who seem to think that airport security enforce destination customs rules (ie people telling me I won't be able to take a sandwich on a plane to the US). I've seen no evidence this actually ever happens however.
    – CMaster
    Aug 22, 2016 at 11:30

2 Answers 2

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  1. Light sabers and toy fighters are fine. The weapons restrictions are for realistic weapons (guns, swords, ninja gear like nunchakus, etc).
  2. This is a question for your airline and departure airport, not Singapore, and the issue is security, not Customs. However, the general rule is that you can't bring liquids purchased outside in carry-on luggage, but you can pack alcohol in your checked luggage.
  3. In practice, and this is speaking from experience from living in Singapore for 8 years and passing through every and every one of its border checkpoints numerous times, Singapore does not really enforce food restrictions: Customs does not care what you import, much less what the notional value is. They focus almost entirely on tobacco, drugs, alcohol and counterfeit products, roughly in that order.
  4. In the highly unlikely event of being asked (see above), receipts showing the purchase price in euros are fine.

Bonus question: the $100 sub-limit applies specifically to food. The overall duty-free limit is $600, so a few bottles of wine, toys and sausages will be absolutely fine.

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As for buying duty free liquor, anything you plan to carry with has to bought after clearing security for your last flight. So if you are flying direct you can buy at the first airport. If you stopping and changing planes you may need to buy at the last airport you transit through.

If you plan to put the liquor in your checked bags, you can buy it at a shop near your home.

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