Approved Wine Event

Duty exemption and GST relief are granted to exhibitors who import wine for sampling purposes at approved events.

Qualifying Criteria

• The wine imports must be used at events approved under the Business Events in Singapore (BEiS) scheme administered by the Singapore Tourism Board.

• The wine imports must be used for sampling purposes only.

• When used by each exhibitor and primary conference organiser at approved wine exhibitions and conference events, up to 2.25 litres of wine per label per day is eligible for duty exemption GST relief. The limit of 2.25 litres applies regardless of the number of bottles or receptacles, or any combination thereof, containing the wine.

• The list of approved wine Harmonized System (HS) codes that qualifies for tax exemption are shown below:

Application Procedures

To apply for duty exemption and GST relief for approved wine, the event organiser should:

1) Obtain an import license from the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) prior to permit declaration for the import of approved wines.

2) Submit the following details to customs_documentation@customs.gov.sg for our further assessment:

• Cover letter containing:
  • Brief description of event
  • Date and duration of event
  • Location of event
• Singapore Tourism Board’s letter of support under the Business Events in Singapore (BEiS) scheme
• A detailed list containing the names and Unique Entity Numbers (UENs) of the exhibitors that will be importing approved wines, along with their appointed freight forwarder, and their respective exhibition booth numbers.
• Details of the event venue (e.g. location, floor plan/layout)

3) Upon receiving our approval, you or your appointed freight forwarder and participating exhibitor(s), that are registered with Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA), must register with Singapore Customs as a claimant using your/their UEN. Exhibitors who are not registered in Singapore for business purposes (e.g. foreign companies) will need to get their appointed forwarder/event organiser to register with Singapore Customs as claimants before they can submit the required permit applications. The Claimant account must be de-registered with Singapore Customs immediately after the event.

4) Apply for an In-Non Payment (GST Relief and/or Duty Exemption) or INP (GTR) permit in TradeNet prior to direct import or releaase of wine from Licensed Warehouse(LWs). The place of receipt code should be declared as “EXEMPTW”. For all permit applications, the event name and year must be stated in the permit application’s “Trader’s Remarks” field.

5) Produce the permit and supporting documents (for example, commercial invoice, packing list and Bill of Lading/Airway Bill) for endorsement by checkpoint officers during import cargo clearance.

6) Take note of the additional requirements below.

Additional Requirements

Labelling of Wine Bottles

The wine eligible for duty and GST exemption must be labelled with good quality tamper-proof stickers that cannot be removed or reused. Exhibitors are required to print the event’s name and year, along with the term “sampling” on the sticker. The sticker should then pasted on the bottle’s side, positioned between the front and back wine labels.

Consumption of Wine

Exhibitors are strongly encouraged to consume wines that have been granted duty and GST exemption during the event. Duty and GST will be payable if these wines are sold, disposed, transferred locally, or used for any purpose other than sampling.

Update of Exhibitor List

If there are any changes to this list of participating exhibitors for the event, the event organiser should update Singapore Customs at least three working days prior to the event. This should be done before proceeding with the direct import of release of wine from LW.

On-site Inspections

Customs may request an inspection at the exhibition premises either before or during the exhibition. Failure to comply with all requirements will result in the recovery of applicable duties and GST. Additionally, future applications for this facilitation by the errant event organiser or the exhibitor may not be approved.