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Singapore taxes digital services, other remote services and small imported parcels sold to local consumers, even when the seller is abroad. The tool is the overseas vendor registration regime, called OVR, run by IRAS. Overseas sellers must register once they pass two thresholds. Checked on .
Who has to register under OVR?
You must register if you meet both tests:
| Test | Threshold |
|---|---|
| Annual global turnover | More than S$1 million |
| B2C supplies of remote services and/or low-value goods to customers in Singapore | More than S$100,000 a year |
B2C means supplies to people or businesses that are not GST-registered. Digital services were brought in from . The scope widened on to non-digital remote services and imported low-value goods. Once registered, you charge and account for GST on those sales at 9%. See the GST rate page.
What are remote services?
IRAS defines them as services where, when performed, there is no necessary link between the customer's physical location and where the work is done. That includes digital services and non-digital ones, for example online counselling, matchmaking, telemedicine, data analysis and research. All travel arranging services supplied by overseas suppliers to unregistered customers also fall in scope.
What are low-value goods?
Goods that, at the point of sale:
- are not dutiable, or have customs or excise duty waived under section 11 of the Customs Act;
- are not exempt from GST;
- are outside Singapore and delivered to Singapore by air or post; and
- are worth no more than the GST import relief threshold of S$400.
Singapore Customs says GST on these goods was extended through OVR from . OVR vendors collect GST at the point of sale from non-registered customers, and from GST-registered businesses buying for non-business use.
Do marketplaces and redeliverers register too?
Sometimes, and instead of the seller. IRAS says an electronic marketplace operator, overseas or local, may be treated as the supplier of low-value goods sold through it, and of remote services sold by overseas suppliers through it. The operator counts those sales to decide whether it must register, then charges and accounts for GST.
A redeliverer can be in the same position. This is a person who arranges delivery to Singapore, provides an overseas delivery address, or buys the goods for the customer. Check which role you play before you assume your platform handles GST.
How does the simplified regime work?
IRAS registers overseas vendors under a simplified pay-only regime, with reduced registration and reporting. GST reporting is done by electronic filing. You do not claim input tax, so GST you pay on Singapore expenses is not recoverable there.
Update your systems. You have to spot Singapore customers, apply 9% on the right items and keep proof. IRAS publishes preparation checklists for remote services and for low-value goods.
How do you tell if a customer is in Singapore and is B2C?
For an individual, IRAS treats the customer as belonging in Singapore if their usual place of residence is Singapore. For online sales you may keep two pieces of non-conflicting evidence, such as billing address, IP address and credit card information.
For B2C status, IRAS says to treat the customer as not GST-registered unless they give a GST registration number.
What is the reverse charge, and how does it relate?
OVR covers sales to consumers. The reverse charge covers business buyers. A GST-registered Singapore business that cannot claim full input tax must account for GST itself on imported services and low-value goods, as if it were the supplier. If you sell to Singapore businesses, they handle this. Compare it with the usual GST registration rules for Singapore companies.
What should an overseas seller do first?
- Add up 12 months of worldwide turnover and your B2C sales to Singapore, then compare them with S$1 million and S$100,000.
- Sort each product: remote service, low-value good, or neither. A parcel worth more than S$400 is outside the low-value goods rule.
- Check how you identify customers. Do you capture two pieces of location evidence for each sale?
- Ask whether a marketplace you sell through is treated as the supplier. If it is, it registers and charges instead of you.
- Talk to a tax provider before you register, so your invoicing and filing are ready on day one.
What did we leave out?
Some advisory sites quote a 30 day registration deadline, late penalties by percentage and return dates for overseas vendors. We could not confirm those on the IRAS or Singapore Customs pages, so we do not repeat them. Ask IRAS or a tax agent for the deadline that applies to you.
Independent guide
SingaporeCompanySetupGuide.com is an independent guide, not IRAS. We do not register overseas vendors. If you want a tax provider to register you and set up the 9% charge, use the quote form. We pass your request to suitable providers, who reply with their own terms.
Sources
- IRAS, Overseas businesses, https://www.iras.gov.sg/taxes/goods-services-tax-(gst)/gst-and-digital-economy/overseas-businesses (thresholds, remote services, low-value goods, marketplaces, pay-only regime, FAQs)
- Singapore Customs, Overseas Vendor Registration Regime, https://www.customs.gov.sg/permits-and-licences/mandatory-requirements/overseas-vendor-registration-regime/ (low-value goods and S$400 threshold; page last updated 23 February)
