GST Singapore Guide

Expanding your business to Singapore involves understanding its version of Value Added Tax (VAT), known as Goods and Services Tax (GST). This guide will provide you with essential insights into the Singapore GST framework, helping you to effectively manage this aspect of your business operations in Singapore.

Updated October 2026: Added how overseas businesses register for GST and how GST applies to imported low-value goods and digital services.

What is the Singapore GST rate?

The Singapore GST system is characterized by simplicity, with a standard GST rate of 9% applied to most goods and services. There is also a 0% Singapore GST rate, which applies to specific goods and services.

Registering for GST in Singapore

The GST registration threshold in Singapore is SGD 1 million in annual taxable turnover. Businesses exceeding this threshold must register for Singapore GST. Those below may opt for voluntary registration, which allows them to reclaim any input GST they may be due.

Registration can be done electronically through the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) website. Once the application has been submitted, businesses should receive their Singapore GST number within three weeks.

When must overseas businesses register for GST in Singapore?

Overseas suppliers that sell to consumers in Singapore fall under the Overseas Vendor Registration regime. They must register if both conditions are met:

• global turnover exceeds SGD 1 million; and
• sales of remote services and low-value goods to Singapore consumers exceed SGD 100,000.

Low-value goods are goods located outside Singapore, delivered by air or post, and valued at no more than SGD 400. The regime has covered these goods since 1 January 2023. Liability is tested on a calendar-year basis or on expected sales over the next 12 months.

Fiscal representative in Singapore

A foreign company operating in Singapore must appoint a GST fiscal representative who will be jointly responsible for ensuring compliance with Singapore’s tax laws. Overseas vendors registered under the simplified pay-only regime do not need a local agent. They file quarterly, with returns and payment due within one month after each quarter.

How do overseas businesses register for GST in Singapore?

It depends on what you sell. Overseas businesses that only sell digital services or low-value goods to Singapore consumers can use the simplified pay-only regime. Businesses that supply goods or services in Singapore, such as goods held in a local warehouse, need normal registration.

• Pay-only (Overseas Vendor Registration): required when global turnover exceeds SGD 1 million and B2C sales of remote services and low-value goods to Singapore exceed SGD 100,000. No local agent is needed. Returns are simplified and filed quarterly, and you cannot claim input tax.
• Normal registration: an overseas entity must appoint a local agent in Singapore, known as a section 33(1) agent, to handle its GST affairs. Input tax can be claimed.
• Deadline: under the Overseas Vendor Registration regime, apply within 30 days after the end of the calendar year in which you exceeded the threshold. If you expect to exceed it in the next 12 months, apply within 30 days of becoming liable.

Sources: IRAS e-Tax Guide on imported low-value goods and Crowe Singapore.

How does GST apply to imported low-value goods and digital services?

Overseas sellers must charge 9% GST on B2C sales of low-value goods and remote services to Singapore. Low-value goods are worth SGD 400 or less, sent by air or post. Alcohol and tobacco are excluded.

• Marketplaces and redeliverers: an electronic marketplace operator or redeliverer can be treated as the supplier. It then charges and pays the GST instead of the seller.
• Business customers: if a customer gives a valid GST registration number, do not charge GST. The customer may need to apply the reverse charge.
• Wrongly charged GST: the customer must ask the seller for a refund. The seller then adjusts its output tax and issues a credit note.
• Records: keep customer and sales records for at least five years.

Singapore GST return filing and penalties

The majority of businesses are required to file a Singapore GST return every quarter. The accounting periods and due dates are as follows:

• January to March - filing and payment deadline is April 30
• April to June - filing and payment deadline is July 31
• July to September - filing and payment deadline is October 31 
• October to December - filing and payment deadline is January 31

Singapore GST returns must be submitted electronically through myTax Portal.

Late submission of a GST return will result in a penalty of SGD 200 with a further SGD 200 for every month a return is not filed, up to a maximum of SGD 10,000. A 5% penalty is imposed on unpaid Singapore GST. If tax is still unpaid 60 days after the due date, a further 2% is added each month, up to a maximum additional penalty of 50%. Late registration can cost 10% of the tax due for each year or part year.

Is e-invoicing mandatory in Singapore?

It is being phased in. Under the GST InvoiceNow Requirement, businesses send invoice data to IRAS through the InvoiceNow (Peppol) network or an InvoiceNow-Ready Solution.

• 1 November 2025: newly incorporated companies applying for voluntary registration.
• 1 April 2026: all new voluntary registrants.
• 1 April 2028: new compulsory registrants, and existing registrants with annual supplies up to SGD 200,000.
• 1 April 2029 to 1 April 2031: remaining existing registrants in stages, by size.

Overseas entities and businesses registered only because of reverse charge rules are excluded.

Reverse charge in Singapore

The reverse charge mechanism applies to imported services and goods by GST-registered businesses and non-GST-registered entities under specific conditions. This system requires the recipient, rather than the supplier, to account for the GST on these imported services or goods.