GST is a tax charged on the supply of goods and services made in Singapore and on the import of goods into Singapore. The current rate is 7%.

All goods and services are taxable and known as taxable supplies. However, some items, including financial services and the sale or lease of residential properties, are specifically exempt from GST by law. Out-of-scope supplies refer to supplies that are outside the scope of the GST Act. These include the following:

• Sales where goods are delivered from overseas to another place overseas (third-country sales)
• Sales made within Free Trade Zone
• Sales made within zero-GST warehouses and private transactions

You have to pay GST when you buy goods or services from GST-registered businesses and when you import goods into Singapore. For imports, GST is paid to Singapore Customs.

GST registration falls into two categories: compulsory registration and voluntary registration.

Compulsory registration

Registering for GST is compulsory when the turnover of your business is more than 1 million SGD for the past 12 months OR reasonably expects the turnover of your business to exceed 1 million SGD for the next 12 months.

Please note that failing to register will attract penalties.

Voluntary registration

You may apply to voluntarily register for GST even if your turnover does not exceed 1 million SGD. Approval for voluntary registration is at the discretion of the comptroller.

The advantage of voluntary registration is that you can enjoy the benefits of claiming GST incurred on your purchases. Leverage on this benefit if your suppliers are GST registered or if you import goods into Singapore.

Please note, once you are voluntarily registered, you must remain registered for at least two years and you have to maintain all your records for at least five years, even after your business has ceased and you have deregistered from GST. You may also have to comply with any additional conditions that are imposed by the tax authority.

Our service for GST Application includes:

• Preparation of application forms (with supporting documents)
• Compilation of Supporting Documents supplied by Applicant
• Preparation of GIRO application form (for voluntary registration)

• One (1) business owner/director to be present at our office: 10 Kallang Avenue, #05-17 Aperia Tower 2, Singapore 339510, personally.
• Bring NRIC and/or Passport of business owner/director;
• ACRA Business Profile (not more than 2 weeks old) – latest can be purchased over the counter;
• Bank Account Details for GIRO application
• Completion of e-Learning Course (please provide screen-capture of quiz/course completion)
• If you have started sales / received payment and are not only making out-of-scope supplies or exempt supplies that qualify for zero-rating, submit all the following documents where applicable :
  • Completed GST Calculator for last 2 years, if past sales is more than S$1m
  • Copy of latest Profit & Loss, including reports & notes to accounts (need not be audited)
  • Copies of 3 recent suppliers' invoices received, including shipping documents
  • Copies of 3 recent invoices issued to your customers, including shipping documents
  • A copy of the 1st invoice issued to your customer, if sales started less than 1year
  • A copy of the signed contract(s), accepted tender, purchase order & other documents to support the forecast, if you made a forecast that your sales for next 12 months to exceed S$1m
• Upon receiving payment and supporting document, we will proceed with GST application on your behalf. The entire application process takes approximately 4 weeks.

If you are unable to visit our office, or have further enquiries/ clarifications, email us now!

• Corporate Secretarial Service: All Companies registered in Singapore must appoint a Company Secretary to handle Statutory Compliance matters. If you have not appointed an experienced Company Secretary, check out our Corporate Secretarial Service.
• Accounting, Tax & Payroll Service: All companies in Singapore are required to keep proper account records, and directors are required to present at the AGM, the company’s accounts that comply with the requirements of the Accounting Standards in Singapore. DP SME Advisory offers a full suite of accounting, tax and GST filing services to fulfill compliance to both ACRA (Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority) and IRAS (Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore). Check out our Accounting, Tax & Payroll Services.