GST/ Dutiable/ Control Authority Items FAQ

Please note that all dutiable goods, such as liquor and tobacco products, that are imported into Singapore incur Goods & Services Tax (GST) and duty. There is no duty-free concession and GST relief.

If your parcels contain dutiable goods, you will be informed through a Letter of Notification from SingPost to collect the parcel at Singapore Post Centre personally or through an authorised representative. You (or authorised representative) are required to produce the following documents during collection:

1. Letter of Notification; and
2. Commercial invoice(s) / Payment receipt(s) showing goods description, quantity (net weight/volume & alcoholic strength) and value of goods

The parcel will be released after examination by Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers in the presence of you or authorised representative and upon payment of the GST and duty, or presentation of the Customs permit (if applicable). Please refer to our website here  for more information on importing by postal or courier service.

Customer may collect and pay the charges in ICA Office at
SingPost Centre10 Eunos Road 8, #14-10
(via lift at North Lobby)
Singapore 408600

Working hours
Monday to Friday: 8:30 am to 5:30 pm
Saturday: 8:30 am to 1:30 pm

Item will be returned to the Sender if it remains unclaimed after 14 days.

All goods (e.g. new or used articles, online purchases, gifts) brought into Singapore are subjected to prevailing Goods & Services Tax (GST) on the value of goods, which may include the Cost, Insurance and Freight (CIF) plus other chargeable costs and the duty payable (if applicable). You are required to pay Goods and Services Tax (GST) on the value of the goods that exceeds the amount of GST relief* granted.

* GST relief is granted on goods imported by post or air, excluding intoxicating liquors and tobacco, with a total Cost, Insurance and Freight (CIF) value not exceeding S$400. Please note that GST relief is not granted for goods imported by other transport modes e.g. sea freight and land unless specified here.

All goods imported into Singapore are subject to prevailing Goods & Services Tax (GST) on the value of goods, which may include the Cost, Insurance and Freight (CIF) plus other chargeable costs and the duty payable (if applicable).

Please visit Singapore Customs' website for more information on how GST is computed.

* GST relief is granted on goods imported by post or air, excluding intoxicating liquors and tobacco, with a total Cost, Insurance and Freight (CIF) value not exceeding S$400. Please note that GST relief is not granted for goods imported by other transport modes e.g. sea freight and land unless specified here.

The handling fee is an administrative/processing fee charged by SingPost to process the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and duty payments on the articles.

The Tourist Refund Scheme (TRS) is administered by Singapore Customs on behalf of the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS). The scheme allows tourists to claim a refund of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) paid on goods purchased from participating retailers if the goods are brought out of Singapore via Changi International Airport or Seletar Airport only. SingPost does not participate in the TRS and will not be able process any GST refund.

For more information on the scheme’s qualifying conditions and tourist eligibility criteria, please refer to IRAS’ webpage on Tourist Refund Scheme.

All goods imported into Singapore is subject to prevailing Goods & Services Tax (GST) on the value of goods, which may include the Cost, Insurance and Freight (CIF) plus other chargeable costs and the duty payable (if applicable).

You can make a claim for refund in writing for an overpayment or erroneous payment of duty and/or GST arising from:

• Wrong value declared
• Items short-shipped
• Parcel eligible for GST relief
• Return of faulty goods

If the GST payment of your postal parcel is made through Singapore Post, please submit the refund through Singapore Post. However, if the payment is made through ICA counter at Singapore Post Centre, you may directly write to Singapore Customs using the “Application for Refund of Duty/GST” form.

The GST refund claim should be supported by the following documents (where applicable) and it will take approximately 3 to 4 months subject to complete document(s) submission by you (or authorised representative):

• Copy of GST/duty payment receipt
• Commercial invoice
• Consignment/dispatch note for the imported goods
• Export and refund document for returned faulty goods (for example, shipment advice, seller's credit note, etc)
• Documentary evidence showing that the money paid for the returned goods was credited back to the buyer
• Any other documents to support the claim for refund (for example, Customs In-Non-Payment (GST Relief) permit, etc)

It will take approximately 3 to 4 months subject to complete document(s) submission by you (or authorised representative):

• Copy of GST/duty payment receipt
• Commercial invoice
• Consignment/dispatch note for the imported goods
• Export and refund document for returned faulty goods (for example, shipment advice, seller's credit note, etc)
• Documentary evidence showing that the money paid for the returned goods was credited back to the buyer
• Any other documents to support the claim for refund (for example, Customs In-Non-Payment (GST Relief) permit, etc)

Singapore Customs does not collect any clearance fee for the clearance of goods in Singapore. You are advised to lodge a report to your local police if you suspect that this involves a fraud.

Singapore Customs do not have information on the status of the parcel as the tracking and/or delivery of postal parcels is handled by SingPost.

A parcel by post may be detained if:

1. It contains dutiable goods,
2. It contains controlled goods,
3. It contains prohibited goods, and/or
4. The parcel containing goods of a total Cost, insurance and freight (CIF) value above S$400 does not have an invoice attached to it at the time of arrival.

In the event that your parcel post has been held, you will received a Letter of Notification from SingPost to collect the parcel at Singapore Post Centre personally, through an authorised representative, or by authorising SingPost to deliver the parcel to you at a chargeable fee. For more information on the import procedures for goods imported via postal or courier services, you may refer to Customs’ website here.

If you do not receive the Letter of Notification from SingPost, please contact SingPost directly.

In addition, from 1 July 2020, all cigarettes and other tobacco products imported into, sold, offered for sale or distributed in Singapore must comply with the new Standardised Packaging (SP) requirements. It is an offence to import cigarettes and other tobacco products with packaging or labelling that do not comply with the SP requirements, regardless of their intended use or purpose. If the parcels contain non-SP compliant packaging, they will be re-sealed and returned to the sender.

However, Singapore residents will still be able to import tobacco products from other countries for their personal use, by post, but only if these tobacco products are fully compliant with Singapore's SP regulations. For further information, please refer to HSA's website or contact Ministry of Health (MOH) through email at moh_info@moh.gov.sg.

The weighing of tobacco products (e.g. cigars/cheroots/cigarillos) is conducted by ICA and witnessed by SingPost at the Airmail Transit Centre. Prior to weighing, internal packaging such as plastic bags and bubble wrap will be removed. However, cigars with individual packaging such as outer bands and shrink wraps will not have such packaging removed for weighing to preserve the integrity and quality of the product.

Singapore Customs, Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) and SingPost will be rolling out a new process for the collection of duty and/or Goods & Services tax (GST) for parcel imports, following the closure of the ICA counter at SingPost Centre from 1 December 2021. This new process seeks to provide greater convenience to members of the public by promoting the use of contactless services in view of the global growth in e-commerce parcel imports.

The new initiative is also part of the Smart Nation initiative to support better living using technology.

SingPost will be collecting the duty and/or GST for parcel imports from customers, on behalf of Singapore Customs. All dutiable SpeedPost items will be delivered once the necessary documents and payments are received. All duty and GST will have to be paid in full prior to delivery.

All imported goods will continue to be subjected to examination by ICA.

With the closure of the ICA counter at SingPost Centre, how do I receive my dutiable items imported via postal service?

When your dutiable items arrive in Singapore, you will be informed through a notification via your SingPost App and/or SMS/Email/Letter if the commercial invoice is attached.

For dutiable parcels without a commercial invoice attached, you will be notified by SingPost via a notification letter to provide the relevant documents. Please note that SingPost may impose an administrative fee for additional services rendered.

As such, to facilitate SingPost's processing and to prevent delay of the delivery of your parcel, you should arrange with your sender to attach the invoice to the parcel for the computation of the GST and/or duty payable. You can also email the invoice to SingPost at g-dps@singpost.com.

Once all information required to process your delivery is available and payment is received, SingPost will deliver the postal parcel to you within 2 to 3 working days.

If there is any overpayment or wrong payment of duties or GST, you can make a claim for refund through SingPost. For more information on the refund procedures, you may refer to Singapore Customs' website here.

You may reach out to us via https://www.singpost.com/contact-us with the supporting documents mentioned below.

• Copy of GST/duty payment receipt
• Commercial invoice
• Consignment/dispatch note for the imported goods
• Export and refund document for returned faulty goods (for example, shipment advice, seller's credit note, etc)
• Documentary evidence showing that the money paid for the returned goods was credited back to the buyer

The computation of duty and GST payable for the importation of cigarettes / tobacco products into Singapore is as follows:

1. Duty payable = Total weight (in kg) x Duty Rate
   The excise duty rates for cigarettes and tobacco products are listed on Singapore Customs' website here.
2. GST payable = Prevailing GST rate x (Value of cigarettes in S$ + Duty payable)
3. Total duty and GST payable = (a) Duty + (b) GST

The computation for duty and GST payable for the importation of liquor products into Singapore is as follows:

1. Duty payable = Total volume (in litres) x Duty Rate x Alcoholic Strength
   Please note that the customs/excise duty rate would depend on the HS Code of the liquor product, as listed on Singapore Customs' website here.
2. GST payable = Prevailing GST rate x (Value of cigarettes in S$ + Duty payable)
3. Total duty and GST payable = (a) Duty + (b) GST

Please visit Singapore Customs' website for more information on the calculation of duty and GST.