How to Calculate Duties and Taxes on Imports to Singapore

Singapore charges 9% GST on nearly all imports and customs duty only on dutiable goods such as liquor and tobacco. Goods arriving by air or post with a total CIF value of S$400 or less get GST relief at the border, unless they're liquor or tobacco. Registered overseas sellers charge GST at checkout on each item of S$400 or less instead.

• Valuation basis: CIF
• Tax base: CIF value plus duty, where GST is due at import.
• GST standard rate: 9%
• Reduced rates: None listed

Overseas Vendor Registration: overseas sellers and marketplaces register and charge GST at checkout on low-value goods imported by air or post.

• taxBase is our short form. Singapore Customs says GST and duty are computed using cost, insurance and freight; the addition of duty was not read in a formula on the pages used.
• Duty treatment is from the postal and courier page. The full list of dutiable goods was not read at source.

The S$400 is a GST rule, not a duty rule. It also has two separate meanings:

• Import relief looks at the total CIF value of the shipment, and applies only by air or post. A sea or land import gets none.
• Checkout GST from a registered seller looks at the sales value of each item, which excludes transport, insurance and GST.

So a cart of three S$350 items from a registered seller has GST charged at checkout on each item, and no import GST on arrival, even with a shipment value over S$400. The same cart from an unregistered seller pays import GST on the whole CIF.

Singapore Customs runs the border. The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) runs GST and the Overseas Vendor Registration regime.

GST and duty run on CIF: cost, insurance and freight. Where insurance or freight is missing, Customs applies flat rates to courier items and actual postage to post. With free shipping, you don't add freight. Declared values have to match your documents.

For dutiable goods, both duty and GST are payable. The tax base is CIF plus duty, which is our short form: Customs says GST and duty are computed using CIF, but we didn't read a formula on the pages we used.

1. Check the seller: if it's GST-registered, each item is S$400 or less, and the goods come by air or post, GST is at checkout.
2. If not, total the CIF value of the shipment. Parcels from one consignor on one flight count as one shipment.
3. By air or post at S$400 or less, and not liquor or tobacco: no GST at import.
4. Otherwise, multiply CIF by 9%, adding any duty to the base for dutiable goods.
5. Pay SingPost for post, the courier for courier shipments, or your declaring agent for a formal entry.

Earbuds, S$350 from a GST-registered overseas seller, by air, with no GST at import.

A camera lens, unregistered seller, by air.

A rattan chair, S$300 CIF, by sea, so no air or post relief.

• Quoting S$400 as a duty threshold: Singapore has no value threshold for duty. Dutiable goods pay at any value.
• Expecting relief by sea: it applies only by air or post.
• Sending three S$150 parcels on one flight: they count as one shipment, and S$450 is over the limit.
• Paying a courier's handling fee and thinking it's tax: couriers may charge handling and disbursement fees separately from GST or duty.
• Forgetting a forwarder's own GST: a registered redeliverer may charge GST on the goods and its service fees.

Businesses need a Unique Entity Number from ACRA, an activated Customs Account and an Inter-Bank GIRO account, or one held by a declaring agent. Permit applications go through TradeNet, using approved front-end software or the government's own application. Keep supporting documents for 5 years from permit approval.

GST and duty are suspended while goods sit in a Free Trade Zone or licensed warehouse. Security such as a banker's guarantee is required for dutiable goods and some other transactions.

Overseas sellers must register under Overseas Vendor Registration if global turnover exceeds S$1 million and B2C supplies of remote services and low-value goods to Singapore exceed S$100,000 a year. Low-value goods under that regime exclude dutiable goods. We didn't read the full list of dutiable goods at source. This page is guidance, not tax or customs advice.