1. A GST-registered person is required to charge and account for 9% GST for the supplies of goods and services made in Singapore. The GST that is charged and collected is known as GST Output Tax and it must be paid to IRAS within a month from the end of the accounting period.
2. Nowadays, there are more and more businesses selling their goods online. The internet has enabled businesses to sell their goods to their customers electronically. Customers can view and order the goods that they want to buy and make payment to vendors online. Once payment is made, the seller will deliver the goods to the customer.
3. However, the medium through which the transaction occurs does not alter the taxability of the transaction. Therefore, the same GST rules that apply for supplies of goods and services made via the traditional means also applies to supplies of goods and services made via the internet or an electronic network.
4. When you sell goods via the internet and deliver the goods locally in Singapore, you should also standard-rate your supply and charge GST at 9%. When you export the goods out of Singapore and maintain the necessary export documents, you can zero-rate your supply and charge 0% GST. Whereas if the physical delivery of the goods is from a place outside Singapore to another place outside Singapore, it is out of scope for GST purpose. No GST needs to be charged on the supply.
5. Accordingly, tax invoices also need to be issued when good are sold online to your customers. The tax invoice must contain the same information as when you sell goods in a shop. This includes your company name and address, customer’s name and address, the word tax invoice and invoice number. The total amount in the invoice can be excluding GST or inclusive of GST in which case the GST amount has to be separately disclosed.
6. GST-registered businesses must display and quote prices inclusive of GST to the public. This applies the same if you sell your goods online. If both GST-inclusive and GST-exclusive prices are displayed, the GST-inclusive price must be displayed at least as prominently as the GST-exclusive price. Failure to comply with price display requirements can result in a fine of up to $5,000. If you are GST-registered and intend to give a discount equal to the GST amount to the consumer, you should not advertise that there is ‘no GST’ for the goods or services. Such advertising is misleading as GST is included in the price after the discount, and you will still need to account for and pay the GST amount to IRAS.
7. GST-registered e-commerce operators must also keep proper business and accounting records for at least 5 years to support GST declarations. This includes serially numbered tax invoices for each sales transaction, credit notes for returned goods, exports documents and evidence that you have received payment for the sales transaction.
8. Please contact us if you are a GST-registered e-commerce operator and need assistance to comply with the GST Act for your business. At PL Biz Consulting Pte Ltd, we have the expertise and experienced peopled to guide you on how to equipped your business to meet the requirements of Singapore GST.
