Ecommerce business expenses in Singapore: import GST, the S$400 threshold, and platform fees

A Singapore online seller imports stock and pays platform fees to companies billed from overseas, so the GST treatment of imports and of imported services is the heart of the books. Singapore draws its low-value line at S$400, and which side a consignment lands on changes whether the overseas vendor or Singapore Customs collects the GST. All figures below are sourced from IRAS guidance in the Sources section.

Import GST and the S$400 threshold

For goods valued above S$400, import GST at 9% is paid to Singapore Customs at the point of import ^[2] . For low-value goods of S$400 or less, GST may instead be charged at the point of sale by GST-registered suppliers under the Overseas Vendor Registration regime, in place since 1 January 2023 ^[1] .

For a seller importing bulk stock, most commercial consignments exceed S$400, so import GST at Customs is the usual case.

Claiming import GST: the IN-PERMIT

A GST-registered business claims input tax on imported goods used for its business. The supporting document is the Singapore Customs import permit, the IN-PERMIT, filed through TradeNet by your freight forwarder or declaring agent, not the overseas supplier’s invoice ^[2] .

So the supplier invoice records the cost of goods and the input tax claim hangs off the IN-PERMIT.

Imported services and the reverse charge

Platform and processor fees billed from overseas are imported services. Since 1 January 2020, the reverse charge applies to imported services, so the Singapore recipient self-assesses the GST rather than the overseas supplier charging it ^[1] . If the platform is itself GST-registered in Singapore, its fees include GST you claim normally instead. The invoice and the supplier’s GST registration tell you which.

Cost of goods versus operating expenses

Cost of goods sold is the stock purchase price plus inbound freight and any non-recoverable import GST. Marketplace input tax-bearing fees, advertising, subscriptions, and packaging are operating expenses. The split blurs when stock and fees both arrive as foreign-currency charges, yet it is what dependable gross-margin reporting rests on.

Currency conversion and the importer of record

Two practical points catch Singapore online sellers. First, GST is accounted for in Singapore dollars, so foreign-currency invoices must be converted to SGD using an approved exchange rate, and the converted figure is the one that goes into the return. Recording the original amount and the SGD value together preserves the trail. Second, the import GST is claimable only by the party that is the importer of record on the permit. If a freight forwarder or a marketplace clears the goods in its own name, the IN-PERMIT may not be in your name, and the input tax claim can be lost. Confirm whose name is on the permit before treating the import GST as recoverable.

Where ExpenseFlow fits

Ecommerce produces a stream of cross-border invoices in multiple currencies. ExpenseFlow captures each receipt and supplier invoice, extracts the line detail and the currency, and syncs the transaction into Xero or QuickBooks Online with the source image attached for the five-year record-keeping window. Its Singapore and cross-border checks flag a purchase from a foreign supplier that has not charged Singapore GST, pointing you to the IN-PERMIT as the document the import-GST claim should hang off, and they flag service-type invoices from overseas suppliers that may fall under the reverse charge so the self-assessment is not missed. It does not calculate import GST, file your GST return, or split cost of goods from operating expenses: those stay with you or your accountant. What it removes is the manual keying and currency handling behind a busy online ledger.

Common mistakes

• Claiming import GST from the overseas supplier’s invoice instead of the Customs IN-PERMIT ^[2] .
• Missing the reverse charge on imported platform and processor services ^[1] .
• Treating a sub-S$400 supply as an import when an Overseas Vendor Registration supplier already charged GST at sale ^[1] .
• Folding selling and processing fees into cost of goods, which distorts gross margin.