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Importing to Singapore

Customs duty, VAT, and import regulations, updated 2026

Import tax
9%
GST (Goods and Services Tax)
Low-value rule
SGD 400
Tariff system
8-digit ASEAN Harmonised Tariff Nomenclature (AHTN)
Last verified 3 September 2026. Figures below are checked against Singapore Customs.

Key facts at a glance

Customs authority
Singapore Customs
Low-value rule
SGD 400
Import tax
9%. GST (Goods and Services Tax)
Duty this site serves
No duty rows held for this market
Code system
8-digit ASEAN Harmonised Tariff Nomenclature (AHTN)
Currency
SGD

The low value rule

SGD 400, relieving import GST.

The threshold is tested against the customs value, which includes carriage.

  • the goods are not one of the four dutiable categories: intoxicating liquors, tobacco, motor vehicles, petroleum products

Since 1 January 2023, an overseas vendor above the registration thresholds (global turnover over SGD 1,000,000 and B2C low value goods supplies to Singapore over SGD 100,000) must charge GST at the point of sale on low value goods at or under this threshold sent by air or post, under the Overseas Vendor Registration regime. Goods above the threshold, and goods arriving by sea or land at any value, pay GST at the border instead. The GST rate is 9 percent.

Source: Singapore Customs, Overseas Vendor Registration Regime; IRAS, GST on Imports of Low Value Goods. Compare every market →

What this site prices into Singapore

This site holds no duty row for Singapore. It prices Singapore in the calculator from a published category average rather than from a rate read off Singapore's own schedule, and the result says so every time it does it. Nothing on this page is a rate for a particular commodity code, and this guide quotes none.

For comparison, the simple average MFN rate across all products is 0% on the 2025 profile. That is the figure the calculator falls back to where this site holds no row for the code you asked about. Source: WTO Tariff and Trade Data, Singapore member profile: simple average MFN applied 2025, all products.

Singapore is duty free on almost everything, which is why the average is zero. The exceptions are excise goods: alcohol, tobacco, motor vehicles and petroleum products all carry duty.

A worked shipment into Singapore

No worked shipment is shown for Singapore, because this site holds no duty rate of its own for this destination and will not price one from a category average as though it were a rate for a code. Use the calculator, which discloses the fallback in words every time it uses one.

What this site does not price into Singapore

Nothing is recorded here, because this site has never opened Singapore's tariff schedule. An absence list names the codes a market was walked for and no figure was found; Singapore has not been walked, so the honest statement is the one above rather than a list of nothing.

Selling into Singapore rather than buying?

There is no seller guide for Singapore. The seller guides are written only for destinations this site prices thoroughly enough to stand behind, and Singapore is not one of them. The destinations that do have one →

2026 tariff update

GST at 9% reaches low value goods as well as everything else. Since 1 January 2023 the Overseas Vendor Registration regime has required overseas sellers and marketplaces above the registration thresholds to charge GST at checkout on goods of SG$400 or less arriving by air or post. Import duty itself still applies only to intoxicating liquor, tobacco, motor vehicles and petroleum products.

Source: Singapore Customs. Last verified 3 September 2026 (2026-09-03).

Overview

Singapore is one of the world's most open trading nations. Import duties apply only to tobacco, liquor, motor vehicles, and petroleum. For virtually all other goods the duty rate is 0%. GST at 9% is not avoided by keeping a shipment small. Since 1 January 2023 low value goods of SG$400 or less imported by air or post have been taxed through the Overseas Vendor Registration regime, where the overseas seller or the marketplace charges the GST at the point of sale and remits it to IRAS. Registration is required once global turnover passes SG$1m and Singapore B2C supplies pass SG$100,000. What SG$400 still governs is paperwork: below it, a non-controlled consignment does not need an import permit. Singapore's Customs service is renowned for efficiency, and clearance often takes hours.

Import process

1. Goods arrive at Singapore (Changi Airport or Port of Singapore) 2. TradeNet declaration submitted electronically 3. Permit obtained, usually instantly. A non-controlled consignment of SG$400 or less arriving by air or post does not need one 4. GST at 9% is accounted for: at the border above SG$400, and by the registered overseas seller or marketplace at or below it 5. Release within hours for most goods

Practical tips

Use Singapore as a regional hub, where re-export without duty is straightforward
MES (Major Exporter Scheme) suspends GST on imports for qualifying exporters
ASEAN FTA (AFTA) provides 0% rates for goods from ASEAN member states
Alcohol and tobacco have specific excise duties regardless of value
There is no GST free allowance. If your overseas supplier is not registered under the Overseas Vendor Registration regime, the GST is still due, so budget 9% on every consignment

Restricted and prohibited goods

Chewing gum (with medical exceptions), fireworks, certain publications, tiger/turtle products without CITES permit

What to re-check first

Each claim on this page was checked against a published source on 3 September 2026. These are the items most likely to have moved since.

GST on low value goods

The SG$400 figure is widely still quoted as a tax free allowance. It has not been one since 1 January 2023 and now decides only whether a permit is required.

Registration thresholds

The SG$1m global turnover and SG$100,000 Singapore supply tests decide whether a seller must charge GST at checkout. Confirm your supplier is registered rather than assuming it.

Dutiable categories

Only intoxicating liquor, tobacco, motor vehicles and petroleum products carry duty. Excise rates on those move at budget time.

Calculate duty for Singapore

Get an instant estimate for any product shipped to Singapore.

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