Singapore to require customer, not supplier, to account for GST in some transactions

Singapore will change the goods and services tax (GST) rules applicable to business-to-business transactions involving mobile phones, memory cards, and off-the shelf hardware in an effort to reduce fraud.

The rules, outlined in an E-Tax Guide published September 15, require a GST-registered customer to account for GST instead of a supplier as of January 1, 2019.

The new rules are designed to deter fraud schemes where the seller absconds with the GST collected, but businesses further down the supply chain continue to claim the input tax, Singapore’s tax authority said.