Supply of Air/Sea Stores

Learn the permit requirements, restrictions and procedures for supplying air stores and sea stores for consumption or use on board aircraft and vessels.

Last updated 25 March 2026

Suppliers must follow specific rules when providing goods for use or consumption on board aircraft or vessels. These goods are known as air stores or sea stores.

Air Stores

What Air Stores Are

Air stores are goods supplied for consumption or use on board an aircraft by crew or passengers outside Singapore.

Examples include:

Food and water
Cleaning and medical supplies
Safety equipment
Spare parts

Jet fuel is not considered an air store.

Permit Requirements

No Customs permit is required to supply air stores or jet fuel for consumption or use on board an aircraft.
However, suppliers must submit a ''Monthly Statement for Stores and Jet Fuel Supplied to Aircraft''.

Submitting the Monthly Statement

Singapore Customs collects statistics on air stores and jet fuel.

Who must submit:
The owner or agent of any aircraft departing from Singapore.
What to submit:
A monthly statement declaring:
- The total value of air stores supplied
- The quantity of jet fuel pumped into aircraft fuel tanks
When to submit:
By the 15th day of the following month.
How to submit:
Email to the Permits Compliance Branch: customs_tnreq@customs.gov.sg
Submission is not required:
If there are no departures or no supplies for that month.

A downloadable format of the monthly statement is available on the Customs website.

Sea Stores

What Sea Stores Are

Sea stores are goods supplied for consumption or use on board a vessel by crew or passengers outside Singapore waters. Examples include:

Food and water
Cleaning and medical supplies
Safety equipment
Spare parts

Uplift Rules for Non-Dutiable and Dutiable Sea Stores

Non-dutiable sea stores

May be uplifted onto all types of vessels.

Dutiable sea stores

May only be uplifted onto approved vessels, such as:
passenger vessels, cargo vessels, oil rigs, dredges, fishing vessels, supply boats and tugboats
Subject to ration allowances per crew per day:

Daily Duty-Free Rations for Ship Crew

Dutiable good	Ration per crew per day
Cigarettes	40 sticks
Smoking tobacco (e.g. pipe or shag)	15 grammes
Cigars and cheroots	3 sticks
Wine	0.25 bottle
Spirits	0.25 bottle
Beer or stout (local or imported)	4 cans

Registration as Exporter of Duty and GST-Unpaid Liquor and/or Tobacco Sea Stores

Exporters must register with Singapore Customs before applying for an export permit via the Application for Registration as an Exporter of Duty and GST-Unpaid Liquor and/or Tobacco Sea Stores form.

Refer to Circular No. 05/2021 for details.

Customs Permit Requirements for Sea Stores

Duty-unpaid or Suspended and/or GST-unpaid or Suspended Sea Stores

These must be accounted for using the appropriate Customs permit depending on the type of movement.

Customs Message Types and Declaration Codes for Sea Stores

Message type	Declaration type	Code	Used for
In-Non-Payment	Re-export	REX	Re-export of sea stores via the same or different FTZ (not applicable to CA-controlled goods)
Out	Approved Premises / Schemes	APS	Export of dutiable sea stores from a licensed warehouse Export of non-dutiable sea stores from a zero-GST warehouse
Transhipment / Movement	Inter-gateway movement	IGM	Movement of sea stores from one FTZ/foreign territory to another FTZ/foreign territory for re-export or storage

Controlled Goods

If the sea stores are controlled for export, you must obtain the required authorisation (advance notification, licence or certificate) from the relevant Competent Authorities (CAs) before uplifting them onto vessels.

Ship Spares are Not treated as Sea Stores

Ship spares meant for installation onto vessels in Singapore:

Must not be declared as sea stores
Are subject to GST payment
Require the relevant In-Payment (GST) permits
Major Exporter Scheme (MES) or Import GST Deferment Scheme (IGDS) companies may obtain In-Non-Payment permits instead

Input tax should be claimed directly from IRAS during the appropriate accounting period.

Duty and/or GST-Paid or Accounted Sea Stores

Non-controlled Goods

A Customs permit is not required to uplift duty or GST-paid/accounted sea stores if the goods are not controlled.

Such uplift must still be reported in the Monthly Statement of Stores Supplied to Vessels.

Controlled Goods

If duty or GST-paid/accounted sea stores are controlled, you must obtain:

The relevant CA authorisation, and
A Customs export permit (Message/Declaration Type Code: OUT (DRT)), if required by the CA

Security Requirement

Suppliers of dutiable sea stores, or their declaring agents, must lodge a security before obtaining the permit.

Information Required in the Permit Application

The following must be declared:

Customs Procedure Code (CPC): SEASTORE
Vessel type
Net registered tonnage (NRT)
Number of crew (to be declared in the Processing Code (PC) 1 field)
Voyage duration (to be declared in the Processing Code (PC) 2 field)
Next port of call
Final port of call

Permit applications for sea stores must not be combined with applications for non–sea store items.

Mandatory Acknowledgement (Condition A4)

Suppliers must obtain the following acknowledgement from the Master/Captain of the vessel, Malayan Railway (KTM), or Storekeeper:

“I certify that I have to-day received ______ packages/containers of goods as declared.”

The acknowledgement must include:

Vessel’s name / godown number
Designation and signature
Date, time, and full name in block letters

Acknowledgement of Receipt of Goods by Vessel Master or Storekeeper

The following acknowledgement must be obtained from the Master/ Captain of Vessel, Malayan Railway (KTM), Storekeeper: – I certify that I have to-day received…….

packages/containers of goods as declared

……………………………………………………….

Vessel’s Name/ Godown No. Designation & Signature

……………………………………………………………

Date
Time
Full Name in Block Letters

Delivery and Consumption of Sea Stores

Sea stores must not be delivered earlier than 24 hours before the vessel’s departure.
Once delivered, they must be locked in a store and remain locked within Singapore port limits.
Sea stores must not be consumed while the vessel is still within Singapore port limits.
Suppliers are liable for duty and taxes for any unaccounted sea stores.

Rejected/Undelivered Sea Stores

Rejected or undelivered sea stores may be re-imported from an FTZ or authorised pier/place into a:

Licensed warehouse, or
Zero-GST warehouse

as shut-out goods.

Refer to the procedures for re-importing shut-out goods and dutiable sea stores.

Submission of Statement for Sea Stores

Singapore Customs collects statistics on sea stores supplied to vessels.

Who must submit:
The vessel owner or agent.
What to submit:
A monthly statement declaring the total value of sea stores supplied.
When to submit:
By the 15th day of the following month.
How to submit:
Email to Permits Compliance Branch: customs_tnreq@customs.gov.sg
Submission is not required:
If there are no departures or no supplies for that month.