Import Procedures

All goods imported into Singapore are regulated under the Customs Act, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Act and the Regulation of Imports and Exports Act.

Imported goods are subject to GST and/or duty payment. A customs permit is required to account for the import and tax payment of the goods.

Dutiable goods, which incur both GST and duty, are:

• Intoxicating liquors
• Tobacco products
• Motor vehicles
• Petroleum products

Ad valorem or specific duty rates may be applied for dutiable goods.

All other goods are non-dutiable and incur GST only. GST is levied at 7% of the CIF (cost, insurance and freight) value, which includes duties (if it is a dutiable good) and other charges, costs and expenses incidental to the sale and delivery of the goods into Singapore, whether or not shown on the invoice.

Find out more about duties and GST.

Import Requirements

Before the actual importation, the importer is required to obtain a customs permit.

The importer is the party who imports the goods into Singapore:

• For their own account or use; or
• For the account or use of some other person

If an overseas company sold goods to a local company and the commercial invoice indicates the local customer as the consignee, the local customer will be the importer of the goods.

More information here about the types of customs permits and situations where no customs permit is required.

Taxable companies should also check with the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) on the arrangements to account for the GST.

• Controlled & Prohibited Goods

  Before importing your goods, you are required to check if the goods are prohibited for import, or are subject to authorisation before they may be imported.

  More information on the list of prohibited and controlled goods here. Please also refer to the goods prohibited for import by the United Nations Security Council’s sanctions before importing your goods.
• Apply for a Customs Import Permit

  To import goods into Singapore, you will need to:

  • Register with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA), or the relevant Unique Entity Number (UEN) issuance agency to obtain a UEN; and
  • Activate your Customs Account

  After activating your Customs Account, you may:

  • Appoint a Declaring Agent to apply for customs permits on your behalf; or
  • Apply for customs permits for your own shipments or on behalf of your clients. To do so, you need to register as a Declaring Agent and apply for a TradeNet user ID

  All permit applications must be submitted via TradeNet, accessible through:

  • TradeNet front-end software from an approved software vendor; or
  • Government Front-End module
• Paying Duty and GST

  You are responsible for the payment of duties and GST (taxes) upon import of your goods. 

  Payment can be made via:

  • Your own Inter-Bank GIRO (IBG) with Singapore Customs; or
  • An appointed Declaring Agent to pay the taxes on your behalf. Tax payment is deducted directly from the Declaring Agent’s IBG.

  To apply for an IBG, mail the completed Application for Inter-Bank GIRO form to Singapore Customs' address as indicated in the form.

  You may authorise your Declaring Agent to use your IBG for the payment of taxes for your customs permit one day after the approval of your IBG application. If you do not maintain an IBG with Singapore Customs, the taxes will be deducted from your Declaring Agent’s IBG.

  Upon approval of a permit application, payment of taxes will be made via IBG. The payment mode will be reflected as one of the two codes in the customs permit:

  GF	Successful GIRO deduction of the amount to be paid from the importer's account. Importer must have enough funds in bank account to meet payment before instructing the declaring agent to make this declaration.
  G7	Successful GIRO deduction of the amount to be paid from the declaring agent's account. You must have enough funds in your bank account to meet payment before making the declaration.

  A “G1” code will be reflected if:

  • The importer does not use IBG as the payment mode; or
  • If the payment amount has exceeded the limit of the Importer’s or Declaring Agent’s IBG account

  G1	Payment of customs duty/GST must be made at the authorised banks prior to the removal of goods from customs control.

  You are reminded to comply with the following permit condition for payment of GST and duties:

  GX	The duty/GST must be paid should the GIRO deduction fail. Singapore Customs may invoke the importer/declaring agent’s security for recovery of the duty/GST. A penalty charge may be imposed by Singapore Customs for an unsuccessful GIRO deduction.

  Learn more about applying for an IBG and authorising Declaring Agents.
• Apply for a Short-Payment Permit
  A short-payment permit application is required to be taken up to account for the short-fall in duty and/or GST paid for goods that had been imported and declared previously. This may include but not limited to the following scenarios:

   

  • Overlanded goods in excess of the quantity stated in the bill of lading or airway bill
  • Under-declaration or omission of cost, insurance, freight and all other charges incidental to the sale and delivery of the goods
  • Wrong invoice (with a lower value than invoice value) or currency type used in the declaration of payment permit
  • Samples, gifts, free-of-charge items provided by overseas supplier not declared in the payment permit

  You should apply for the correct short payment permit:

   

  • In-Payment (GST including duty exemption) permit if only GST is short-paid
  • In-Payment (Duty) permit if only duty is short-paid
  • In-Payment (Duty and GST) permit if both duty and GST are short-paid

  The previous permit number is to be declared in the “Previous Permit No.” field and “SPNOSTK” (“Short Payment Not Involving Updates To Stock”) in the “Place of Receipt Code” field. The short payment permit is for the purpose of duty and/or GST recovery only and cannot be used for cargo clearance.

   

  If the transacted amount on the invoice is in a foreign currency, please use the options below to derive the amount short-paid in Singapore dollars:

   

  • The Customs exchange rate on the date the initial In-Payment permit was approved; or
  • The selling rate quoted by a commercial bank on the date the initial In-Payment permit was approved for a foreign currency not listed in the Customs exchange rate

  For the second option, you are required to declare the name of the bank, bank’s telephone number and the date which the rate was quoted in the "Trader’s Remarks” field of the short payment permit application.    

                                                                                   

  If the invoice states the transacted amount in both foreign currency and its conversion into Singapore dollars, please use the pre-determined exchange rate in the invoice to derive the amount short-paid in terms of Singapore dollars.
• Depositing Goods in Free Trade Zones
  Free Trade Zones (FTZs) in Singapore facilitate entrepot trade and transhipment activities.

  All goods imported by sea or air must first be deposited in a FTZ. If it is not practical to do so, you may be allowed to deposit the goods in Customs’ approved premises such as licensed warehouses.

  Duty and GST are suspended for goods stored within the FTZ, and are only payable when the goods:

  • Are consumed within the FTZ; or
  • Leave the FTZ and enter into customs territory for local sales or consumption

  Liquors and tobacco products are allowed to be stored temporarily in the FTZ for up to 30 days from the date of cargo arrival, pending transhipment or removal to a licensed warehouse.
• Depositing Goods in Licensed or Zero-GST Warehouses
  Dutiable goods imported and stored in a licensed warehouse do not incur duty and GST. Duty and GST are only payable when these goods are removed from the licensed warehouse into customs territory for local use.

  Non-dutiable goods imported and stored in a zero-GST warehouse or through any IRAS’ GST suspension schemes (such as Major Exporter Scheme and Import GST Deferment Scheme) do not incur GST. GST is only payable when these goods are removed from the zero-GST warehouse into customs territory for local use.
• Retaining your Trade Documents
  You and your Declaring Agent are required to keep documents and records relating to the purchase, import, sale or export of your goods for at least 5 years from the date of permit application approval.

  These documents include:

  • Commercial invoice
  • Books of accounts
  • Bills of lading or air waybill
  • Packing lists
  • Certificate of origin
  • Certificate of analysis
  • Certificate of insurance
  • Any document or record on the terms of trade relating to the purchase, import, sale or export of the goods by the importer or exporter or his agent
  • Other relevant documents or records

  These documents must be produced to Singapore Customs upon request or as part of the requirements stated in the permit conditions (if applicable). The common conditions stated in customs permits are:

  A5	Upon request by Singapore Customs, this permit must be submitted to Permits Compliance Unit by the date reflected in the request.
  Z02	Approved by Singapore Customs on condition that the permit, invoices and Bill of Lading/Air WayBill must be submitted to Permits Compliance Branch within 48 hrs via the NTP Government Services (Customs eServices).
  Z18	Approved by Singapore Customs on condition that you (1) comply with Competent Authority's requirements, (2) submit the permit, invoices and Bill of Lading/Air WayBill to Permits Compliance Branch via the NTP Government Services (Customs eServices).

  You may also store images of the documents without retaining the physical copy. Please read the guidelines for storing images of trade documents. 
• Documents for Clearance of Goods
  Documents Required for Containerised Cargo

  You should ensure the validity of the customs permit presented for clearance of your imports.

  For containerised cargo, the container number and shipper seal number must be declared when applying for the customs permit.

  Importing by sea: You are not required to present the customs permit and supporting documents to the checkpoint officers at the entry points.

  Importing by air or land: You are required to produce the printed copy of the customs permit, and supporting documents such as invoice, packing list and Bill of Lading/Air Waybill, to the checkpoint officers at the time of cargo clearance for verification:

  An example of conditions in the customs permit indicating this requirement:

  A1	The goods and this permit with invoices, BL/AWB, etc must be produced for Customs clearance/ endorsement at a Free Trade Zone "In" Gate.
  A3	The goods must be produced with this permit, invoices, BL/AWB, etc for Customs endorsement at an Airport Customs checkpoint or designated Customs office or station as required.
  H1	The goods and this permit with invoices, BL/AWB, etc must be produced for Customs clearance / endorsement at Woodlands Checkpoint / Tuas Checkpoint.

  Documents Required for Conventional Cargo & Hand-Carried Goods

  For conventional cargo and hand-carried goods, you should present the goods, printed copy of the customs permit, and supporting documents such as invoice, packing list and Bill of Lading/Air Waybill, to the checkpoint officers at the entry points for verification.

  An example of conditions in the customs permit indicating this requirement:

  A1	The goods and this permit with invoices, BL/AWB, etc must be produced for Customs clearance/ endorsement at a Free Trade Zone "In" Gate.
  A3	The goods must be produced with this permit, invoices, BL/AWB, etc for Customs endorsement at an Airport Customs checkpoint or designated Customs office or station as required.
  H1	The goods and this permit with invoices, BL/AWB, etc must be produced for Customs clearance / endorsement at Woodlands Checkpoint / Tuas Checkpoint.

  For a consignment which requires partial clearance, the same customs permit should be presented each time for endorsement till the whole consignment is completely cleared.

  Please note partial clearance is not allowed for goods brought in via Woodlands and Tuas checkpoints.
• Return of Customs Permits

  For goods imported by sea or air, you must submit the import permits to the shipping or airline agents respectively within 10 days of import. 

  This is to enable manifest reconciliation by the shipping or airline agents for the submission of the manifest reconciliation statement to Singapore Customs within 17 days of import.
• Sealing and Unstuffing
  Officers at the entry points may seal any package or container before releasing the goods. Such sealed goods must be unpacked or unstuffed under Customs’ supervision.

  The local freight forwarder, declaring agent or importer must e-file for Customs’ supervision of unpacking or unstuffing at least 1 working day before the intended operation. Fees will be charged for the supervision.