Your household goods to Singapore: the GST relief, the deadlines and the declaration before arrival

Singapore levies 9% GST on almost everything that enters the country, and so also on a container with your own sofa, bed and books. Whoever settles in Singapore can get relief for that, and Singapore Customs sets out the conditions in five lines: you are moving your place of residence to Singapore, the items are yours, you have owned and used them for at least three months, you do not sell them in the first three months after arrival, and everything arrives within six months of your first arrival. The trap is the order: you apply for the relief before the goods are in Singapore. If the container is already there, Customs rejects the application and you pay the GST.

Who gets the relief, and for what?

Customs names two groups: Singaporeans and permanent residents who return, and foreigners who relocate or migrate to Singapore. As proof of that move Customs asks for a copy of your passport, your Employment Pass, Dependant's Pass or Student's Pass, and where needed a letter of appointment from your employer or MOM's in-principle approval. The relief is never automatic: Customs assesses case by case.

Condition	Deadline according to Singapore Customs
Ownership and use before the move	at least 3 months
Import after your first arrival in Singapore	within 6 months
No selling, giving away or transferring after import	3 months
Application for items travelling with you	at least 5 working days before arrival
Apply for the permit after approval of unaccompanied freight	within 10 working days
GST if the relief is not granted	9%

The six months count from your first arrival, not from the day your pass is issued. Whoever first goes on a reconnaissance trip, later lands with a suitcase and only has the container come months after that, already has that clock running. So count back from the first time you entered Singapore as a future resident; how that arrival works administratively is in registration and numbers.

How does it go with a container or air freight?

For goods that travel separately from you, you or your mover submits a Declaration of Facts online to Customs before arrival: with a copy of your passport, the proof of your move and the bill of lading or air waybill, one declaration per consignment note. You track the status in TradeNet. If Customs approves the relief, your agent applies within ten working days for an In-Non-Payment (GST Relief) permit; that requires among other things the HS code for personal effects and the reference number. If the application is rejected, your agent applies for an In-Payment permit and you pay the GST. Check in advance with the HS/CA Product Code Checker whether there are items for which another authority must give approval.

Too late is too late. Customs writes it in bold: the Declaration of Facts must be submitted before import and clearance. If the goods have already arrived, the application is rejected and you pay the GST. Agree with your mover who files the declaration and when, and do not let the container sail before you know which documents Customs needs from you.

For parcels by post or Speedpost you submit the same Declaration of Facts, with the tracking number, and inform SingPost immediately of the approval. A separate permit is then not needed, as long as there are no controlled goods in the parcel.

And the things in your own suitcases?

If your household goods and personal effects travel on the same flight as you, you fill in the application form for hand-carried goods at least five working days before arrival, with the supporting documents. On approval you receive an email that you show with the documents at the Red Channel on arrival. Without approval you must buy a GST permit and pay before you import the items.

What never falls under it?

Customs is brief about it: alcoholic liquor, tobacco products, motor vehicles, private aircraft, boats and yachts, and commercial goods never get relief, for anyone. For the wine cellar only the ordinary traveller's concession applies, for example one litre of spirits plus one litre of wine, provided you were away for at least 48 hours and are not arriving from Malaysia; for tobacco there is no concession at all. Taking a car is a chapter of its own with its own levies, see car and driving licence in Singapore. For your dog or cat the same three and six months apply, but the AVS animal inspection comes before that; see your pet to Singapore.

In Vertrekklaar this is phase 4 of 5 of the journey, step 4.1: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Singapore or go straight to step 4.1 in the open plan.