Purpose and statutory framework
The sixth edition published 30 January 2026 explains the Specialised Warehouse Scheme (SWS), introduced on 1 October 2011. It addresses valuable goods stored in Singapore for long periods where proving an export intention when billing can be difficult. Warehouse approval rests on GST Act section 21(7A) and General Regulations regulation 106B. Prescribed services use section 21(3)(y), paragraph 10 and the Ninth Schedule of the International Services Order; storage-space occupation uses section 21C. This relief concerns qualifying services and storage space, not an automatic exemption for every sale of stored goods.
Qualifying goods and warehouse licences
Only prescribed art, antiques, artefacts, collectors’ items, specified precious metals/stones, jewellery and wine qualify. Customs administers Zero-GST Warehouses for non-dutiable goods and Licensed Warehouses for dutiable goods with import GST suspended. There are Type I, II and III licences, but SWS eligibility requires Type I or II. Type III permits multiple warehouses under one respective-scheme licence and movement between them; it does not satisfy the SWS licence condition. The applicant must be the actual licensee operating storage for customers.
The three separate more-than-90% tests
Overseas customers must exceed 90% of all customers storing goods, and must own the goods or act for another overseas person. Declare overseas and total customer counts at application; any projection must have a date and supporting basis. Prescribed goods must exceed 90% of all units stored. Units of prescribed goods removed for export must exceed 90% of all prescribed units removed, including removal into customs territory. For both goods tests use the immediate past financial year or any continuous 12 months within the past 18 months; a new business may use supported projections. If tracked, temporary event removals under customs control returned to the same warehouse may be excluded from the removal calculation. “More than” means exactly 90% does not satisfy the test.
Compliance, security and annual review
The operator must be GST-registered, have good IRAS records for tax payments and complete/timely GST returns, and no major Customs violations. It must complete an ASK Annual Review or commit to ACAP. Specialised high-value storage is expected to have electronic security such as controlled access and/or climate controls for temperature/humidity, with the stored goods insured. Overseas belonging generally means an individual’s residence is outside Singapore or a business has no Singapore business or fixed establishment.
Apply using GST F26 and supporting evidence
Submit a separate GST F26 for each warehouse, with its Customs licence and evidence supporting projected figures. Unless committed to ACAP, attach the ASK Section 3 Annual Review/Voluntary Disclosure declaration certified by an in-house or external professional accredited by SCTP as Accredited Tax Practitioner (GST) or Accredited Tax Advisor (GST). With valid ACAP status, the ASK declaration is unnecessary where the business completes a Post ACAP Review and files GST F28/F28A, or applies for renewal using GST F29. IRAS can request additional documents or visit premises to examine business/accounting records. The stated outcome time is one month after a fully completed application and all supporting information are received.
Three-year approval and continuing obligations
Approval lasts three years, conditional on continued eligibility and scheme responsibilities. IRAS publishes the operator’s name, GST number, warehouse licence number, address and approval effective date so other suppliers can check status. Before expiry, submit a certified ASK Annual Review/Voluntary Disclosure declaration to assess continued eligibility. The Comptroller may impose additional case-specific conditions. Immediately report a failure of any approval condition and any change to application particulars, such as address, licence number or licence type.
Failure can create GST liability for other suppliers’ services
After a failure, the operator accounts at the prevailing rate for its own supplies and other registered suppliers’ services that wrongly rely on SWS zero-rating while the warehouse still holds approval. Report that GST in Box 6. This liability ends when approval ends, compliance resumes, or the Comptroller allows continued approval. When approval ends, supplies no longer qualify through SWS; liability for a later supplier’s own erroneous zero-rating is not transferred to the former operator. Other valid zero-rating grounds and services already standard-rated are not charged again under this rule.
The January 2022 failure examples
The source illustrates an overseas-customer share falling to 20% on 1 January 2022. The operator must immediately notify IRAS and account for its own affected supplies from that date. It must also account for an auctioneer’s supplies wrongly zero-rated under the still-existing approval, unless the auctioneer standard-rates or another zero-rating ground applies. Approval is then revoked on 15 January 2022: from that date both suppliers must standard-rate unless another ground applies. If the auctioneer fails to check and continues zero-rating, the operator is no longer liable for that post-revocation supply. These dates illustrate the allocation of liability.
Customer, movement and service records
Keep current and former customer belonging details and storage-contract periods. If an overseas customer is not the owner, ensure supplies do not directly benefit a local unregistered person. Track every prescribed-goods removal by units and export status. Keep a listing of all relevant zero-rated supplies, including third-party suppliers and Temporary Import Scheme services, with supplier name, GST number, time of supply, description and value. Time of supply is the earlier of invoice or payment. Obtain third-party details when acknowledging service reports or issuing confirmation; the listing also supports output-tax calculation after a failure.
Revocation and notifying other suppliers
The warehouse must maintain its Zero-GST/Licensed Warehouse licence throughout approval. Inform IRAS early if not renewing; Customs non-renewal or revocation also revokes SWS approval. The Comptroller can revoke in writing for lost eligibility, false/misleading/inaccurate application information or failure of conditions/responsibilities. After revocation, stop representing the warehouse as approved. Immediately notify suppliers known to be relying on old approval knowledge, so they do not continue incorrectly zero-rating.
Four conditions for zero-rated prescribed services
The supplier can be the warehouse operator or another GST-registered business. It needs an overseas contract, an eligible direct beneficiary, a prescribed service directly connected with prescribed goods, and the required goods location when the work is performed. Direct beneficiaries may be overseas or, from 1 January 2020, locally GST-registered. A part benefiting local unregistered persons is standard-rated; if that portion cannot be determined, standard-rate the whole service. Local registered beneficiaries with limited input recovery apply reverse charge to services procured from the overseas person, including its recharges.
Eligible services and temporary removal
Services include storage, goods management, auction/exhibition or similar display-event services, broking or similar services, conservation/restoration, valuation and insurance. Goods must be in an approved warehouse when services are performed, or temporarily removed under Customs’ Temporary Import Scheme for repair/maintenance/similar services or an auction/exhibition/display event. They must subsequently return to any approved specialised warehouse. Temporary Import Scheme suspension of import GST/duty is separately administered by Customs; removal alone does not dispense with the return condition.
Examples for paintings and local beneficiaries
Storage/management of overseas John’s painting in an approved warehouse can be zero-rated. A different supplier auctioning that painting after authorised temporary removal and subsequent return can also zero-rate. Comparable supplies contracted with local unregistered Lee are standard-rated unless another relief applies. From 2020 an overseas John can contract for storage/management of a painting owned by local GST-registered company C: the provider can zero-rate, while C applies reverse charge to John’s charges if C has limited recovery. Contract location and direct benefit therefore need separate checks.
Documents supporting service zero-rating
Retain the overseas service request/contract where applicable, invoice, payment evidence and a copy of the warehouse’s SWS approval. Evidence must establish the goods category and that they were in, or permissibly removed from, the approved warehouse when services were performed. Operators may use their own customer contract; other suppliers can use an operator-acknowledged service report or written confirmation. For Temporary Import Scheme work, retain removal and return permits/declaration letters, including where the return warehouse differs. Other suppliers obtain these from the operator if it made the declarations.
Managed storage versus exclusive space
Managed storage without a specifically allocated area is normally a service; an exclusive vault, locker or defined private storage unit is normally a land lease, tenancy or occupation licence. Only the approved warehouse operator can zero-rate that land supply. It must contract with and directly benefit an overseas person; the entire space must be part of the approved warehouse and used in the operator’s business of storing prescribed goods for others. Operator-owned goods or space leased for an office do not qualify. The 2020 extension for locally registered direct beneficiaries applies to services, not this space-occupation relief.
Private units and the bank’s onward storage
The source’s 25 m² antiques unit exclusively used by overseas John is zero-rated by the operator; an equivalent unit supplied to local Lee is standard-rated. A 100 m² gold unit supplied to Bank D is zero-rated if the bank is overseas, but standard-rated if local. Separately, a Singapore-GST-registered Bank D providing storage services for customers’ gold may zero-rate services for overseas customers under the service rules. Its local-customer services normally are standard-rated unless another relief applies. Keep overseas contracts, invoices and payment evidence for qualifying space supplies.
Appendix A: art, antiques and collectors’ items
A work of art must be unique or limited-edition and not produced for mass commercial sale. Formats include painting, drawing, collage, plaques, prints/engravings/lithographs, sculpture/casts, tapestry, ceramics, enamel on metal, film, photographs, sound recordings and installations; film/sound can use digital or physical media. Antiques exceed 100 years; artefacts have historical/cultural interest. Collector categories include zoology, botany, mineralogy, anatomy, history, archaeology, palaeontology, ethnography, coins/medals and philately. Philatelic items include postage/revenue stamps, postmarks, first-day covers and pre-stamped stationery; they must be franked, or if unfranked not legal tender or intended for such use.
Appendix A: metals, stones, jewellery and wine
Precious metal means gold, silver, palladium or platinum at least 995 thousandths pure, in bar/wafer form and a bullion/commodity-market-accepted weight. Stones are diamond, ruby, sapphire or emerald. Jewellery is bodily adornment containing precious metal, precious/semi-precious stones or organic substances such as pearl, coral or amber. “Wine” is defined by the source’s listed HS codes and includes specified grape must, flavoured wine, cider/perry, mead and other fermented beverages; the precise headings are set out below.
| HS code | Description; alcohol percentage by volume |
|---|---|
| 2204.10.00 | Sparkling wine |
| 2204.21.11 | Still wine; ≤2 L; alcohol ≤15% |
| 2204.21.12 | Still wine; ≤2 L; alcohol >15% |
| 2204.29.11 | Other wine; >2 L; alcohol ≤15% |
| 2204.29.12 | Other wine; >2 L; alcohol >15% |
| 2204.21.21 | Grape must with fermentation stopped/prevented by alcohol, including fortified wine; ≤2 L; ≤15% |
| 2204.21.22 | Same grape-must category; ≤2 L; >15% |
| 2204.29.21 | Same grape-must category; >2 L; ≤15% |
| 2204.29.22 | Same grape-must category; >2 L; >15% |
| 2204.30.10 | Other grape must; ≤15% |
| 2204.30.20 | Other grape must; >15% |
| 2205.10.10 | Vermouth/other grape wine flavoured with plants/aromatics; ≤2 L; ≤15% |
| 2205.10.20 | Same flavoured-wine category; ≤2 L; >15% |
| 2205.90.10 | Same flavoured-wine category; >2 L; ≤15% |
| 2205.90.20 | Same flavoured-wine category; >2 L; >15% |
| 2206.00.10 | Cider and perry |
| 2206.00.90 | Mead and other fermented beverages; mixtures with non-alcoholic beverages |
Appendix B: complete the operator’s confirmation
The confirmation has legal-force requirements. Include reference/date, supplier name/GST number/address, actual performance date, Part A service descriptions/remarks and Part B goods descriptions/identification numbers. Select whether the goods were in the approved warehouse at performance, or temporarily removed with Customs permission: record original licence, event name/venue/period and destination approved-warehouse licence for the return. Authorised personnel must hold at least Manager/Head of Department appointment. Provide name, designation, operator business name/GST number, warehouse licence, company stamp and signature. A generic statement that goods were “in storage” is insufficient evidence of these particulars.
Amendments and responsible agencies
The 2015 revision changed eligibility ratios; the 2019 revision prepared the 2020 reverse-charge/direct-benefit changes and ASK/ACAP requirements. The 2021 revision updated the professional body’s name to SCTP, 2023 addressed licence types and prevailing-rate wording, and January 2026 made editorial changes. The source lists IRAS GST Division at 1800 356 8633 and gst@iras.gov.sg for GST questions; Customs at +65 6355 2000 and customs.gov.sg for warehouse licensing, temporary import and declarations. These contact details are those printed in this edition.
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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