En-bloc purchasing has two supplies
The third edition dated 30 January 2026 explains electricity in Singapore’s retail market under en-bloc purchasing. A licensed retailer supplies the building landlord or Management Corporation Strata Title (MCST) with the master meter; that person then supplies tenants or unit owners with sub-meters. The retailer’s sale and landlord/MCST’s resale are distinct contractual supplies. Even where agreements are bundled or the retailer handles all billing, this does not turn the tenant into the contractual buyer of the retailer’s original whole-building supply.
Contestability and agreement background
The guide describes contestable non-residential consumers choosing a licensed retailer’s negotiated plan or wholesale spot-price supply. Commercial master-meter consumers, such as malls, multi-storey factories and industrial complexes, can apply to the Energy Market Authority for en-bloc contestability when, among other requirements, whole-building use meets the prevailing threshold and all sub-metered tenants/unit owners give 100% consent. The PDF does not state a numerical consumption threshold. A retailer–master contract and master–sub-meter contract exist separately or within a bundled principal agreement.
Retailer to master-meter consumer
A GST-registered retailer issues the master-meter consumer a tax invoice and accounts for GST on all electricity used by the building, including tenant/unit-owner consumption. The first invoice is not limited to the landlord’s common-area use. The consumer’s onward recovery from tenants is addressed through the separate second supply, rather than reducing the retailer’s taxable whole-building sale.
Registered and unregistered master-meter consumers
A registered master-meter consumer issues tax invoices and charges/accounts for GST on each sub-meter consumer’s electricity portion. It may claim the retailer’s GST subject to ordinary input-tax rules. An unregistered master consumer does not charge GST on its resale and cannot claim the retailer’s GST. A registered tenant may claim only GST actually charged by a registered master consumer, subject to normal conditions; the retailer’s registration alone cannot create a tenant input-tax claim through an unregistered landlord.
Retailer billing does not transfer the liability
A retailer may invoice tenants and collect payment for the master consumer, but the registered master consumer remains liable to account for output GST on its own onward electricity supply. It must keep records and include tenant-use GST in its returns. Operational outsourcing of invoicing or collection therefore requires sufficient reporting information, not merely a cash settlement from the retailer.
Five requirements for delegated invoices
The retailer must be authorised to issue invoices on the master consumer’s behalf; maintain proper records and an invoice audit trail; give the master consumer sufficient documents/information to account for output tax; include the regulation 11 particulars; and, when using its own letterhead, state that the invoice is issued for the master consumer and show that consumer’s name and GST number. If the master consumer is unregistered, neither the title Tax Invoice nor a GST amount should appear on the tenant invoice, even though the retailer is registered.
Every Annex A tax-invoice field
The invoice needs a prominent tax-invoice title, identifying number and issue date; supplier name/address/GST number, meaning the master consumer here; customer name/address; sufficient supply description and type; quantity or service extent and tax-exclusive amount for each description; any cash discount; total exclusive of tax, tax rate and separate total tax; and total inclusive of tax. Where the totals are in foreign currency, also show the required Singapore-dollar equivalents under the GST Act’s Third Schedule. A retailer’s logo cannot replace identifying the true supplier.
Edition history and enquiries
The September 2013 guide replaced the February 2006 electricity-supply guide; the amendment table records editorial changes in 2013 and April 2024. Although the cover is January 2026, no separate 2026 substantive amendment is listed. Questions on this guide go to the GST Division through IRAS Contact Us. The PDF concerns GST allocation, not a published current tariff or a complete electricity-market eligibility application.
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 ↗