The actual edition and the qualifying supply
The linked filename mentions sixth edition, but the PDF itself is the eighth edition published30January2026. It explains conditional GST zero-rating for aircraft, parts, repair, fuel, stores and handling, reflecting an export-oriented regulated industry. Aircraft-industry involvement alone does not qualify a transaction: identify the aircraft, part, service and required evidence under the relevant provision.
Qualifying aircraft: international use or military status
A qualifying aircraft is wholly used or intended wholly for travel outside-to-outside Singapore, Singapore-to-overseas or overseas-to-Singapore, or is military. Examples are wholly international passenger/cargo airliners, private jets and helicopters. It remains qualifying despite a one-off static/flying Singapore exhibition, an airworthiness test circling Singapore or international airspace after maintenance, or a Changi–Seletar repositioning before international departure. These limited exceptions do not turn generally domestic operations into wholly international use.
Non-international aircraft and simulators
Non-international aircraft are neither wholly internationally used/intended nor military. Domestic flight training, aerial surveys or sightseeing, and flights circling international airspace but taking off and landing in Singapore, are examples. Some prescribed supplies can nevertheless be zero-rated when specifically attributable to an international flight by that aircraft. Flight simulators and other machines incapable of flight are outside both aircraft definitions.
Parts must be designed exclusively for aircraft use
Qualifying parts/equipment have exclusive aircraft use with no alternative use, covering propulsion, navigation, communications or structure. Examples include engines/turbines, landing gear, radar/navigation/communication equipment, uniquely aviation consumables/expendables/rotables, fitted electrical or seat-entertainment components, safety escape chutes/life jackets/smoke hoods/oxygen masks and sanitary fixtures. Generic adhesives, chemicals, oils, paints, solvents, thinners, tools, fibreboard, metals, plastics, seat fabrics, carpets and ground equipment do not meet that definition merely because used in aviation.
Whole-aircraft sales and leases
Section21(3)(o) allows qualifying whole-aircraft sale or hire at zero rate regardless of physical delivery location or whether the customer belongs locally or overseas. Retain ownership information, purchase order, contract/bill of sale, invoice, regulatory forms and other transaction documents. The customer must supply model/type and intended or actual use confirming qualification, in the purchase order or a separate document.
Part sales and leases: serviceability plus evidence
Section21(3)(x) permits qualifying new or serviceable parts at zero rate regardless of customer location or delivery, provided an authorised national civil-aviation certifier, or the government owning military aircraft, certifies airworthiness. FAA,EASA andCAAS are examples. Unrepaired or economically irreparable parts destined for scrap are not airworthy and follow normal GST rules. If the part definition cannot be confirmed, certification can support the Comptroller’s concession, but known or suspected non-qualifying-aircraft use requires normal rules. Obtain the customer’s aircraft model/type/use confirmation.
Part-sale document checklist and manufacturer certificates
Keep customer purchase order/written instructions, sale/rental invoice, payment evidence and airworthiness documents. Civil parts need an Authorised Release Certificate(ARC) or Certificate of Conformity(COC); military parts may use equivalent proof accepted by the Comptroller. ARC generally covers Class1/2 products such as engines, propellers, wings and landing gear. Manufacturer COC generally covers Class3 small/standard parts such as brakes, fan blades, bolts and pins. A distributor/reseller must retain the manufacturer’s COC in addition to any own COC.
Three repair routes and a qualifying repairer
Section21(3)(p) covers work on board a qualifying aircraft; a part removed, repaired and reinstalled or replaced identically; and part repair or identical exchange by a qualifying person. That person is certified by a national civil-aviation or military authority to undertake repair/exchange, commonly an MRO provider. The certification requirement for the third route cannot be replaced by merely calling a business an aviation specialist.
Repair evidence differs by route
All routes need a contract/work or purchase order showing aircraft type/use, repair invoices and customer payment proof. On-board/removal routes additionally need work reports demonstrating on-board work or removal/reinstallation/identical replacement. Certified part repair needs the authority’s certificate, civil ARC/COC or military equivalent, and available strip reports/work statements linking work to a qualifying-aircraft part. Airworthiness after the service matters: without supporting ARC/COC for the certified-parts route, its zero-rating does not apply.
A non-certified contractual supplier may subcontract
A contractual supplier without certification can zero-rate when it has a written customer repair contract, subcontracts to a qualifying person who physically performs the work, and retains the required repair evidence. A formal contract, purchase order, written instructions or accepted work order by email/letter can serve as written agreement. Customer aircraft details remain necessary. If there is no written repair agreement, or the chain contains another non-certified person beyond that supplier, seek the Comptroller’s prior approval with the business scenario and documents.
What counts as repair or maintenance
Repair restores serviceability. Modification, overhaul, improvement or upgrading can qualify if reliability improves without changing the original nature/form. Evaluation and recertification assess repairability or airworthiness. Maintenance includes testing, cleaning and fumigation. The aircraft/part must remain airworthy with the prescribed evidence. Extra expedite fees or non-technical support hours follow the repair’s treatment only if repair is the principal contracted supply, the extra charges would not arise without it and they form the overall repair price. Otherwise treat them separately under normal rules.
Rotable exchanges require the right contractual substance
One-for-one serviceable/unserviceable exchange under a written repair contract is one zero-rated service. Without that contract, classify goods versus repair: for a single repair service the supplier must be qualified and both parties must clearly regard the arrangement as repair, supported by accounting, invoice or website descriptions. Example1’s certified MRO places its exchange programme under materials support rather than repair on its website and has purchase orders but no repair contract. It fails the shared repair-understanding condition and supplies parts as goods, whose own zero-rating rules must be assessed.
Flight-hour billing and ancillary on-charges
Periodic charges by flight hours or fixed rates linked to aircraft age can all be zero-rated when a qualifying person performs repair/maintenance on a qualifying aircraft and the required evidence is retained, regardless of the particular work type. Ancillary costs incurred and recharged may follow the repair supply when no more than5% of total invoiced consideration. Above5%, they must be essential to repair/maintenance and reimburse aircraft-related expenses. Examples are refuelling, defuelling, landing fees, fuel-sampling tests and test flights. This is distinct from the three-part additional-charge test.
Scrap replacement and conversion are goods supplies
Replacing an economically irreparable part to be scrapped is a sale/rental of goods, often priced from a catalogue, not repair; qualifying-parts rules may still give zero-rating. Changing an aircraft’s nature/form, such as passenger-to-cargo conversion, is an aircraft supply rather than repair. It can be zero-rated under21(3)(o) if the resulting aircraft qualifies, regardless of customer belonging.
Import relief can end if the aircraft ceases to qualify
Paragraph13 of the GST Import Relief Order permits import relief where the importer or person in charge satisfies Singapore Customs that the aircraft or ship meets section21(4)(a). Import GST becomes payable if it later ceases to meet that definition. Import relief is not identical to zero-rating an onward sale or receiving an AISS permit. Refer import-relief matters to Singapore Customs.
Stores, fuel and onboard retail goods
Stores/fuel and goods retailed to persons on qualifying aircraft are zero-rated under21(6). For non-international aircraft,21(6AA)(b) applies only to supplies specifically attributable to an international flight. Example2 permits fuel for a non-international helicopter’s sightseeing tour outside Singapore on that attribution. Retain orders/contracts/invoices/payment evidence. For qualifying aircraft, delivery orders must state qualifying-aircraft use and be endorsed with customer name, designation, signature and company stamp where relevant. For non-international aircraft, obtain the user/customer’s written voyage declaration, in the order/instruction or endorsed delivery note, plus filed flight plan where obtainable. Missing required evidence or reason to doubt its accuracy means standard-rating. Paragraph7.3 requirements have legal force.
Handling services and the designated places
Handling a qualifying aircraft or handling/storing goods carried in it is zero-rated when supplied within an FTZ or designated airport under21(3)(l). Designated places are Changi,Paya Lebar,Seletar and Tengah Air Base. Non-international-aircraft handling can also qualify under21(6AA)(a) to the extent specifically attributable to its international flight; arrival landing/parking from overseas is the example. Retain existing transaction documents and, for non-international aircraft, the voyage declaration/flight-plan evidence required for stores/fuel. Paragraph8.4’s documents have legal force.
AISS has five import-suspension routes
Approved qualifying aerospace businesses can suspend import GST on own business goods; goods of an overseas principal as section33(2)/33A agent where the principal is unregistered or OVR pay-only registered; qualifying parts belonging to local or overseas persons; qualifying parts removed from ALPS or other FTZs; and qualifying parts removed as recipient for making taxable supplies. The Approved Import GST Suspension Scheme has separate approval requirements described in its own guide. Overseas principals supplying remote services or low-value goods may have OVR registration duties; pay-only status is a specific exception, not all overseas GST registration.
Reverse charge for imported services and low-value goods
From1January2020, businesses or GST groups without full input-credit entitlement may reverse-charge imported services, accounting as supplier except specifically excluded services and recovering input tax only under normal rules. From1January2023, reverse charge also extends to imported low-value goods except those directly attributable to taxable supplies. It includes purchases from local/overseas suppliers, marketplaces and redeliverers whether GST-registered or not. This procurement rule must be assessed separately from aviation supply zero-rating.
Edition history and official enquiries
The guide lists editions fromMarch2014 throughJune2015,June2016,June2017,October2019,November2020,August2022 andJanuary2026. Amendments include broader non-international-flight rules and documentation in2016, repair-airworthiness clarification in2017, OVR pay-only and reverse charge in2019, manufacturer COC in2020 and LVG/OVR scope in2022. Its amendment table ends in2022 despite the2026 eighth-edition cover; no separate2026 change is identified there. GST questions are directed to IRAS’s Contact Us channel.
Official source
This article independently explains the substantive contents of the official PDF, including the relevant conditions, procedures and annexes. The linked document remains the authoritative source for its original wording, and later changes should be checked separately.
Read the official PDF ↗