The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) on May 28 announced that it will not adopt several requested changes to the scope of the tax on imported low-value goods, provided for in draft e-Tax Guides “Taxing imported low-value goods by way of the overseas vendor registration regime” and “Taxing imported remote services by way of the overseas vendor registration regime.”
IRS said it will instead “fine tune” the eTax Guides, taking into account stakeholder comments on the drafts where possible. The final e-Tax Guides will be published on July 30.
A commenter suggested allowing overseas vendor registration (OVR) vendors the option to charge goods and services tax (GST) on imported goods with a value exceeding the low-value goods threshold of SGD 400 (USD 302) to simplify the process for businesses.
IRAS responded that GST on imported goods valued above SGD 400 is levied at the border, so such change could result in double taxation. Moreover, IRAS suggested that OVR vendors generally do not have difficulty distinguishing low-value goods.
IRAS also declined to adopt a change to allow OVR vendors the option to also charge GST on business-to-business sales of low-value goods (i.e., sales to GST-registered businesses). IRAS said that the policy intent is to limit the regime to business-to-consumer transactions and that levying GST on business-to-business transactions “would merely be an administrative reporting exercise.”
In the summary of responses, IRAS also considered comments regarding clarifications on supplies of low-value goods made through an electronic marketplace, GST reporting requirements for refunds to customers, and other administrative details.
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