January 2026 second edition
The twelve-page guide explains section 21(3)(v) for qualifying container sales/leases and 21(3)(w) for repairs, maintenance, management and qualifying ancillary services. Customer location or tracking the container’s next destination is not the central test; international-use qualification and the actual contracted supply are.
Both container tests
Containers must be used or intended for international carriage of goods AND meet prescribed standards. Sea containers conform to ISO, IICL or equivalent standards; air containers to IATA aircraft unit-load-device or equivalent standards. Local transport, storage, dormitory or office use is non-qualifying even if a container looks like an international shipping box.
Your contract and all four repair arrangements
You must contract in your own name/capacity and the customer must be liable to pay you, with debt recourse. A written or verbal contract is a factual question. Repairs qualify on the container itself, components removed/reinstalled, components returned as spares, or components replaced identically. Essential parts/materials supplied with repair can follow the whole service; parts-only sales need actual export and evidence for zero-rating.
Every repair and inspection category
Qualifying work includes emergency/structural repairs, reefer machinery, blasting/painting/remounting and frame work; testing temperatures, vents, humidity and defrost; washing/cleaning/fumigation and waste removal; pre-trip, gate-in, cleanliness, condition, on/off-hire and in-service surveys; pre-cooling, leak testing and pre/post-repair inspection. On/off-hire and in-service surveys can verify depot repair estimates.
Management and seven activity examples
For owner, agent or lessee, management entails taking charge of all import/export matters and associated risks for a fee. Examples are releasing/receiving administration; movement monitoring; import/export arrangements; document handling; freight securing; arranging repair; and ensuring international-travel/cargo fitness. Merely recharging a supplier invoice does not demonstrate this overall responsibility.
Ancillary services: same contract, not standalone
Container transport/storage/handling follows qualifying repair/maintenance/management only in the SAME contract and as part of the service. Examples include depot survey/handling fees, empty-container movements for repair, transshipment temporary storage/handling, damaged-container storage and storage until export. Standalone transport between ports/depots does not qualify under the container-service provision.
All six excluded services and possible other provisions
Depot-facility audits, cargo/transport surveys, mobile-crane arrangements, cargo loading/unloading, demurrage/detention and yard overtime are not section 21(3)(w) container services. Other international-service provisions may apply: shipping-line demurrage ancillary to international transport can qualify under 21(3)(a). Failing the container provision does not settle every other legal basis.
Appendix 1: direct and subcontracted repairs
Scenario A: a supplier contracts with a local OR overseas customer for qualifying repairs and the customer owes that supplier, so zero-rating applies. Scenario B: the supplier contracts for repair with ancillary handling/transport and subcontracts actual repair to a depot; both depot repair and the supplier’s qualifying package can be zero-rated. Personally performing every repair is not required, but contracting to supply it is.
Appendix 2: no-markup rebilling fails this test
A supplier contracted ONLY for handling/transport incurs depot repair costs in its own capacity and recharges the customer. Even without markup, that recharge is not a contracted repair supply and cannot use 21(3)(w). The depot’s own repair invoice may be zero-rated while the recharge is not. Non-disbursement recharges use the prevailing rate unless another international-service provision applies.
Evidence and repayment
Keep commercial documents/evidence for container type, international use, contractual role and supplied services and provide them on request. Incorrect zero-rating requires repayment of chargeable GST and applicable penalties. The guide replaces the 2012 container guide and refers enquiries to the GST division.
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 ↗