What the export guide covers
IRAS’s twelfth edition, published on 30 January 2026, explains when goods supplied by a GST-registered business qualify for zero-rating and the evidence needed for each export arrangement. Physical departure alone does not prove that every sale in a trading chain qualifies. At the time of supply, the supplier must be certain that the goods will be or have been exported, and that the required evidence will be available. Contracts, orders, letters and emails can establish the customer’s export instruction. The supplier remains responsible for supporting the GST return; IRAS may require additional documents or conditions for a particular transaction.
Direct and indirect exports
A direct export involves the supplier retaining custody of the goods and control over the export arrangement; section 21(6) covers goods exported by that supplier and certain ship or aircraft stores and retail merchandise. An indirect export involves the supplier lacking custody or export control. Under section 21(7) and regulation 105, indirect exports require the Comptroller’s prior approval, prescribed evidence and any revenue-protection conditions. The published scenarios in section 7 are deemed approved when every condition and evidence requirement is met, so a separate application is unnecessary for those scenarios. Arrangements outside them require clarification or approval rather than assuming the exception applies.
The 60-day deadline and correcting a failed zero-rating
Normally the supplier has 60 days from the time of supply both to export the goods and collect the required evidence. For most zero-rated transactions, time of supply is the earlier of invoice issue and payment receipt. A commercial invoice or tax invoice may be used. In the guide’s historical illustration, payment on 2 January 2018 starts the clock, although invoicing occurs on 15 January; shipment on 17 January and complete evidence on 30 January meet the deadline. If export or documentation is late, standard-rate the supply and account for GST. Submit GST F7 where the tax error exceeds S$3,000; otherwise account for it in the next return. This guide’s published extended-period scenarios are exceptions, not a general freedom to defer.
When a future intention to export is insufficient
If the customer merely contemplates exporting the goods, or must wait for its own customers’ instructions, the supplier cannot be certain of export at the time of supply. Later evidence does not fix that original uncertainty. Scenario 5.1 requires a supplier delivering goods to a local buyer to charge GST despite the buyer’s promise to export and provide documents in the supplier’s name; the buyer may claim eligible input tax and zero-rate its own documented export. Scenario 5.2 also standard-rates goods sold to an overseas buyer but stored with its local agent while destinations remain undecided. Scenario 7.1B differs because the overseas destination is already fixed.
Commercial documents for an ordinary direct export
For scenario 6.1A, the supplier sells and ships to an overseas customer through its own freight forwarder or handling agent. Keep the buyer’s purchase order or equivalent, sales invoice, shipment insurance where applicable, payment evidence and an endorsed delivery note or packing list. The endorsement must identify the forwarder or agent by name, address and GST registration number if applicable, state that delivery is for export and record the collection date. Sea or air shipments need a bill of lading or air waybill showing the supplier as exporter and identifying the goods. Land shipments need an export permit naming the supplier and the vehicle number; if unavailable when the permit is declared, record the vehicle subsequently on the supporting documents.
Postal and courier exports
Scenario 6.1B requires the overseas order, supplier’s invoice, applicable insurance and payment evidence, together with proof that the goods reached the overseas customer. An online delivery-tracking record can satisfy that delivery requirement. The transport evidence may be a parcel despatch note, courier consignment note, air waybill or shipment label issued by the Singapore-based postal or courier company; it must identify the supplier as exporter or sender and describe the exported goods. The July 2024 update added shipment labels and proof of delivery and removed the requirement to endorse this transport document. A shipping label alone therefore does not replace proof of completed overseas delivery.
Small vessels serving neighbouring destinations
Scenario 6.1C covers shipments by boats or small vessels operated by shipping companies, for example to Batam. Keep the order, invoice, applicable insurance, payment evidence and delivery note or packing list endorsed by the shipping company with export purpose, its particulars and collection date. A bill of lading, cargo manifest or mate’s receipt must name the supplier as exporter and identify the goods, vessel, destination and estimated departure date and time. A cargo manifest summarises the carrier’s shipment documents; a mate’s receipt confirms receipt aboard the vessel. These are documentary alternatives for this particular scenario.
A local customer can still receive a zero-rated export supply
In scenarios 6.2A and 6.2B, supplier X arranges shipment directly overseas on local buyer Z’s instructions and invoices Z. Retain Z’s order and written instruction to deliver to overseas recipient Y, X’s invoice, export-endorsed delivery or packing documents, insurance if applicable and Z’s payment evidence. Under 6.2A the sea or air document names X, while the land permit names Z. Under 6.2B the sea or air document may also name Z for business reasons: X still qualifies because it retains custody and export control. The land permit continues to name Z. The buyer’s own sale to Y is a separate transaction assessed under the appropriate indirect-export scenario.
Consolidated exports and substitute transport evidence
Where the supplier’s own forwarder consolidates goods from several exporters, the master bill of lading or air waybill may not identify each supplier. Scenario 6.3 accepts a house bill or house air waybill identifying the supplier and goods, or a Subsidiary Export Certificate or Note of Shipment issued by the forwarder or agent. The ordinary order, invoice, endorsed delivery or packing list, applicable insurance and payment evidence remain necessary. For land transport, keep the supplier-named permit and vehicle details, or the specified certificate or shipment note where commercial reasons prevent naming that supplier. Substitution is permitted in stated scenarios; outside them primary evidence remains required unless approval has been obtained.
Contents of a Subsidiary Export Certificate
The certificate must identify itself as a Subsidiary Export Certificate and contain its serial number; export permit number and departure date; exporter or supplier name and address; air waybill, bill of lading or land vehicle number; description and quantity of goods; export mode; and the authorised person’s name and signature. A signature is not necessary for a computer-generated certificate. If the issuer is different from the forwarder or handling agent acting for the supplier, also identify that acting agent by name, address and GST registration number where applicable. This additional link matters for co-loading and must not be lost when a second forwarder issues the evidence.
Contents of a Note of Shipment
The supplier’s invoice, delivery note or packing list can serve as a Note of Shipment only when it includes the required information. State the issuing forwarder or agent’s name, address and GST registration number if applicable, and the issuing person’s signature and designation. Identify the goods received; an attached invoice or delivery note can supply those details if its date and reference number are expressly linked. State that the goods are for export only. Include the supplier or exporter’s name, flight, vessel or land vehicle number, and air waybill or bill of lading number. Merely attaching an unlinked packing list does not create the required audit trail.
An overseas buyer’s local forwarder: scenarios 7.1A and 7.1B
Supplier X invoices overseas buyer Y but delivers to Y’s local forwarder or handling agent Z. It is ordinarily a local taxable delivery. Zero-rating is allowed only if X knows at the time of supply that all the goods will be exported. Keep Y’s order and written delivery instruction, invoice, Z-endorsed export delivery note with Z’s particulars and collection date, insurance where applicable and payment evidence. Sea or air evidence names X, or Z issues the prescribed certificate or shipment note if it does not. Land evidence similarly uses an X-named permit with vehicle details or the approved substitute. Under 7.1B Y may instruct Z to send directly to its overseas customer W; Y need not physically receive the goods, but the same evidence is required.
Co-loading through a second forwarder: scenario 7.1C
Where Y’s appointed local agent Z passes the goods to another forwarder for co-loading, X still needs certainty at the time of supply that every item will be exported. Keep the same order, instructions, invoice, Z-endorsed delivery or packing documents, applicable insurance and payment trail. Primary sea or air documents may name X; otherwise the subsidiary certificate or shipment note may be issued by Z or Z’s forwarder. If the second forwarder issues it, the document must also identify Z for the audit trail. Land shipments use the X-named permit and vehicle information, or the permitted substitute where the permit cannot name X for commercial reasons.
Local buyer reselling overseas: scenarios 7.2A and 7.2B
Under 7.2A, local buyer Z instructs X to arrange delivery to overseas buyer Y. Z’s sale is an indirect export: keep Z’s order and export instruction to X, X’s invoice to Z, Z’s invoice to Y, Y’s payment evidence, and the sea or air document naming X or the land permit naming Z with vehicle details. Under 7.2B, X instead delivers to Z’s forwarder. X’s sale to Z may qualify for indirect zero-rating only with advance export certainty and the full endorsed commercial records, plus sea or air evidence naming Z or the prescribed substitute; land evidence also names Z or uses the substitute. Z’s sale to Y is then a direct export through its own forwarder and requires scenario 6.1A evidence.
Three local businesses in one export chain: scenario 7.2C
X ships directly overseas to Y, but invoices local Z, which invoices local W, which invoices Y. X’s direct-export sale requires Z’s order and written export instruction, X’s invoice and Z’s payment, endorsed shipment documents, insurance if applicable, and transport evidence naming X by sea or air or W on the land permit. Z’s intermediate sale to W can be zero-rated only if the X, Z and W invoice dates are identical, establishing back-to-back billing. Z must retain W-to-Z and Z-to-X export instructions, X’s endorsed delivery or packing list, insurance if applicable, invoices and payment evidence for both X-to-Z and Z-to-W, and the same transport evidence. W’s sale needs both export-instruction links, X’s endorsed delivery documents, W’s invoice to Y and Y’s payment, applicable insurance and the transport evidence. The conditions for the intermediate sale must not be reduced to simply proving departure.
Hand-carried business exports through Changi
For overseas customers other than tourists, the carrier can be the supplier, the customer, or an authorised employee or representative of either. A business supply hand-carried through Changi International Airport must meet the Hand-Carried Exports Scheme conditions unless the supplier is exempted from that scheme. The carrier presents the goods and export permit to Singapore Customs for inspection; successful clearance is endorsed digitally. The separate HCES guide supplies the full documentation and scheme conditions. The ordinary direct- and indirect-export scenarios in sections 6 and 7 do not replace the hand-carried requirements.
Hand-carried exports through Seletar, sea or land
HCES does not cover departures through Seletar Airport, sea or land. Scenario 8.1B instead requires all seven evidence components: supplier’s invoice to the overseas buyer; buyer’s payment; buyer’s confirmation of receipt; the carrier declaration signed by both supplier and carrier, recording collection date and each carrier’s name and passport number; transport records bearing the carrier’s name, including confirmed ticket, boarding pass and applicable excess-baggage receipt; passport extract showing name, number, nationality and photograph plus foreign-entry endorsement where applicable; and an export permit naming the supplier, subject to Customs requirements. Land export also requires vehicle identification, which may be added to later support documents if unknown at declaration. Keep the carrier-specific declaration and transport, passport and permit evidence for every carrier, not just the lead traveller. IRAS may compare the documents with ICA departure records.
Tourist purchases are taxable local sales
Sales to tourists must be treated as local supplies, with GST charged and the invoice issued in the tourist’s name. Eligible refunds for goods taken out through Changi or Seletar can be administered through the Tourist Refund Scheme; they do not turn the original sale into an ordinary zero-rated business export. Retailers operating TRS must follow regulations 47 to 50 and the separate retailer guide. The guide’s amendment history records removal of cruise-terminal TRS for purchases made on or after 1 July 2017. Tourist status and departure route therefore matter independently of proof that the goods leave Singapore.
Goods for ships
From 1 July 2010, qualifying zero-rating extends to goods sold or leased for use or installation on qualifying ships, rather than only stores or retail merchandise, and is not limited to ships calling at a foreign port. The ship must satisfy the relevant definition and supply conditions. The marine-industry guide explains qualifying and non-qualifying ships and the applicable evidence. This export guide does not permit every sale delivered to a vessel to be treated alike, nor does it replace those marine-sector tests.
Six months for kitting, packing, assembly or dismantling
Scenario 10.1A permits delivery to a local person for kitting, packing or assembly before export, provided the overseas customer gives written instructions expressly requiring later export and the local processor undertakes to export within six months of receiving the goods. Keep the order, invoice, payment evidence and delivery or packing document addressed to the overseas customer, endorsed by the local processor with its particulars, receipt date and six-month export undertaking. Sea or air export needs a prescribed subsidiary certificate or shipment note; land uses the supplier-named permit and vehicle details or the allowed substitute. The concession excludes processing that changes the goods’ nature and form: plastic made into toys, fabric into dresses and chips mounted on circuit boards are examples. A changed HS code is treated as a changed nature and form. Scenario 10.1B applies the same conditions to dismantling and packing solely to facilitate shipment, with all dismantled parts exported and no processing.
Customised oilfield and gasfield equipment for overseas customers
Scenario 10.2 requires a contract with an overseas customer not belonging in Singapore, for equipment designed to that customer’s specifications and intended for incorporation or installation on an oil rig, platform, vessel or topside outside Singapore, or export as part of one leaving Singapore. Progressive billing is allowed, but first billing, final billing and export must all occur within the contract period or three years, whichever is earlier. Total progress bills must reconcile with the contract value, with documents supporting amendments. At each billing retain the contract, order or correspondence, delivery instructions, sales invoice and payment evidence. The export-stage documents differ depending on whether the equipment is sent overseas separately or installed locally on the structure that then leaves.
Oilfield equipment: the two export-evidence packages
For equipment to be installed outside Singapore, retain the sea bill of lading, air waybill or land export permit with supplier and vehicle particulars; confirmation from the fabricator or shipyard that the goods left Singapore; and the overseas customer’s receipt confirmation or foreign import-authority documentation. For equipment exported as part of a structure from Singapore, retain the company-letterhead delivery note to the shipyard endorsed for receipt by the Shipyard Master with the ship’s stamp; shipyard or customer confirmation identifying the rig, platform, vessel or topside, departure date and destination; the customer’s installation confirmation; and installation certification from a qualified independent professional body or person. One package cannot be silently substituted for the other.
Oilfield equipment for local customers
From 1 July 2009, scenario 10.3 extends this treatment to customised oilfield and gasfield equipment sold to local customers. The equipment must match their specifications and be destined for incorporation or installation on the relevant structure overseas, or export as part of that structure from Singapore. First progress billing, final billing and export must occur within the contract period or three years, whichever is earlier; progress bills reconcile with the contract and amendments are documented. Retain the same two export-evidence packages and billing records described for overseas buyers, with references to the customer changed to the local customer. The extension does not cover equipment intended to remain for local use.
Other customised machinery: overseas and local customers
Scenario 10.4 allows progressive billing for equipment or machinery customised to an overseas buyer’s specifications, provided the goods are not used, consumed or made available in Singapore and are exported by the supplier, its forwarder or the overseas customer’s appointed forwarder. First billing, final billing and export must fall within the contract period or three years, whichever is earlier. Contracts or orders specify description, quantity, price, payment terms, overseas delivery address, third-party recipient name and address if applicable, export method and other agreed details. Keep reconciled progress invoices, evidence of each payment and section 6 or 7 transport documents. From 1 January 2011, scenario 10.5 extends this to local customers, but additionally requires the supplier to maintain custody and control at all times, even if using the local customer’s forwarder. Progressive billing must be part of the contract in both scenarios.
Specified procurement with advance payments: a different six-month limit
Scenario 10.6 concerns sourcing and exporting specific goods for an overseas customer, potentially through progressive shipments and an advance payment that is part-payment. Record the agreement even if originally verbal: correspondence must establish specifications, shipment schedule and payment schedule. The supplier must retain custody and export control. Initial deposit or advance payment, final billing and export of all specified goods must occur within the arrangement period or six months, whichever is earlier. Total initial and progressive payments must reconcile to the agreed transaction value. Retain descriptions and quantities, agreed price and payment and shipment terms, overseas or third-party recipient details, export method, progress invoices, each payment, export evidence and order amendments. This six-month period starts with the initial payment; it is distinct from the processor’s receipt-based six-month rule.
Exported goods without a sale still require reporting
For control purposes, the owner or GST agent of an overseas principal generally reports goods exported without a sale in the zero-rated-supplies box when the goods are exported or made available. Examples include moving stock to an overseas warehouse without changing title; sending parts, materials or machinery for overseas work; leasing equipment abroad to be returned later; returning goods to a foreign supplier; and consignment stock. Local agents also report overseas-owned goods re-exported after repair or modification, and finished goods made from overseas-owned imported materials. Generally use the exported goods’ commercial value plus any service fees that independently qualify for zero-rating. If commercial value is unavailable, import value may be used. Keep commercial transport evidence. This reporting does not establish that every related service is zero-rated.
Gold exports and possible relief from no-sale reporting
A jeweller paying an overseas supplier with hand-carried gold bars, or exporting scrap gold through a local intermediary to a foreign refinery, must report the export as zero-rated supplies even though there is no sale at departure. The gold-industry guide provides the specific reporting and evidence rules. A reporting waiver requires the Comptroller’s approval: the guide considers alternative goods-movement tracking, such as inventory records, with periodic third-party verification that IRAS can rely on, or record-keeping controls satisfactory to the Comptroller. Possessing an inventory system alone is not an automatic exemption.
Invoices, advance export declarations and permit values
A zero-rated supply need not use a tax invoice, although a commercial invoice is expected as business practice. If using a tax invoice, show GST at 0%. The guide states that advance export declarations apply from 1 April 2013, including non-controlled and non-dutiable sea and air exports. Permits are primary GST evidence for land export and HCES; HCES permits additionally require Customs endorsement, now digital under the scheme. In general the party issuing the commercial invoice to the overseas customer is named as exporter on the permit, and the declared amount is FOB value. If the bill-of-lading shipper differs, the permit remarks must explain that the named shipper ships for the named exporter. This explains why land permits in multi-party scenarios can name the final overseas seller rather than the original physical supplier.
Retaining, replacing and reconciling records
Export records must be retained for five years. Electronic storage does not require separate Comptroller approval, but must meet the GST record-keeping guide’s requirements. Missing required evidence means standard-rating, and mismatched goods descriptions between invoices, endorsed packing lists and transport documents likewise fail to prove the exported sale. If evidence is lost, obtain a duplicate from the issuing company, clearly identified as a copy for GST purposes, dated and authenticated by its official. An internally reconstructed invoice or an unexplained difference in quantities is not the prescribed replacement process. Clarify ambiguous arrangements with the GST Division rather than relying on incomplete evidence.
Penalties stated in the guide
The source distinguishes record-keeping offences from incorrect returns. On conviction, failure to keep proper records can attract a fine up to S$5,000, imprisonment up to six months, or both; a subsequent conviction can attract up to S$10,000, imprisonment up to three years, or both. An incorrect return that undercharges tax can attract a penalty equal to twice the undercharged tax, plus a fine up to S$5,000, imprisonment up to three years, or both. These are the source’s stated conviction consequences, not automatic penalties imposed on every documentary mistake. Audit treatment depends on the circumstances.
Completing the individual-carrier declaration
Appendix 1 has separate carrier and supplier sections. Each carrier addresses the declaration to the supplier, dates and signs it, identifies the customer and invoice date, number and amount, and lists each goods description with invoice quantity and quantity carried by that individual. Add the carrier’s relationship to customer or seller where applicable, nationality, passport number and address; departure date, airline or vessel, flight, vessel or vehicle number, departure time and destination. The supplier checks the required transport, passport, overseas invoice, receipt confirmation, permit and payment records collected within 60 days, and its authorised person provides name, signature and designation. The form warns that incomplete or disorderly supporting records cannot support zero-rating. It neither replaces the documents nor overrides the route-specific HCES rules.
Edition history and applying the correct scenario
The guide’s substantive updates include later recording of unknown land vehicle numbers in 2016; removal of cruise-terminal tourist refunds in July 2017; refined passport particulars in 2018; removal of Singapore departure stamps following ICA’s April 2019 cessation and introduction of digital clearance references in 2019; carrier and checklist clarifications in 2021; digital-only HCES endorsement wording and all tourist-sales treatment in 2023; the S$3,000 correction threshold in January 2024; carrier-declaration changes in March 2024; and revised courier evidence in July 2024. The cover dates this twelfth edition to January 2026, but its amendment table ends with the July 2024 entry; no extra unstated 2026 policy change is inferred. Choose the scenario by who invoices, who holds and exports the goods, who appoints the carrier and whether the ultimate destination was certain when supply arose.
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.
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