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 wine business tradeshows and conferences supported by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB).

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

• Duty exemption and GST relief are granted for wines, up to a limit of 2.25 litres per label, per day, per exhibitor, without any limit on the number of bottles.

• 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, the event organiser should:

1) Seek prior approval from the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) 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
• Confirmation from the STB that your wine tradeshow or conference is supported by STB
• List of exhibitors that will import approved wines with exhibition booth number
• Exhibition site map

3) Upon receiving our approval, you or your appointed freight forwarder and participating exhibitors that are established in Singapore should register for a claimant account with Customs.

4) Apply for an In-Non Payment (GST Relief and/or Duty Exemption) or INP (GTR) permit. The place of receipt code should be declared as “EXEMPT”.

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

Wines entitled to tax exemption must be labelled with a sticker with clear and legible markings. The exhibitor should print the name of the exhibitor’s company, date of event, and the word “sampling” on the sticker and paste the sticker on the side of the bottle, between the wine labels presented on the front and back of the bottle.

Consumption of Wine

Exhibitors should fully consume the tax-exempted wines during the approved event. Duty and GST will be payable if the tax-exempted wine is sold, disposed, transferred locally, or used for any purpose other than sampling.

Update of Exhibitor List

The event organiser is required to provide Customs with a list of exhibitors who are importing tax-exempted wines. If there are any changes to this list of exhibitors, the event organiser should update Singapore Customs 3 working days before any actual import of tax-exempted wine.

On-site Inspections

Customs may conduct on-site inspections during the exhibition to ensure compliance with all requirements related to the facilitation granted for tax-exempted wines.