Forum: Work on safety compliance of items sold online

I welcome the Government's announcement that it will impose the goods and services tax on low-value goods that are worth $400 or less from 2023.

As a follow-up, I suggest that the process of importing such goods be streamlined from a compliance perspective.

Several checks and balances can be enforced through registration and licensing, to ensure consumers are assured that products being sold in Singapore are genuine and work well.

For example:

  • Specific consumer goods such as audio players and power adaptors should need safety approval under the Consumer Protection (Safety Requirements) Regulations.
  • All medical devices, their importers and their retailers should need to be certified by the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) annually, and be listed on HSA's website.
  • Retailers of any kind of food, including packaged tea or coffee, should need to have a commercial licence.
  • All online businesses should have to appoint a data protection officer to ensure consumer data is handled carefully with consent.

There are hundreds of pieces of medical equipment, food items and other electrical gadgets being offered online from various overseas suppliers or those with a parallel import channel through marketplaces. There is often no indication on these portals as to whether these suppliers or their goods are approved for sale in Singapore.

Approved sellers ensure consumer safety through compliance with standards. Imagine the possible fallout from an improperly calibrated thermometer deployed at a Covid-19 temperature screening point at a mall.

To ensure that they meet quality standards, overseas businesses may need to incur additional expenses to be audited and to obtain certification.

But this compliance will add to consumer confidence and safety.

Shikharesh Das

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