5 September 2012
The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) has issued an e-Tax Guide for the logistics industry on 28 August 2012. The Guide explains the GST principles relevant to the logistics service industry, and clarifies the GST treatment on some of the more common services provided by businesses in the logistics service industry.
In the logistics service business, the three main categories of services ie transportation (including ancillary handling activities such as stuffing, loading and unloading), handling and storage services could be provided in any of the three main geographical regions:
- Outside Singapore
- Within the Free Trade Zones (FTZs) or designated areas of a port, terminal and airport (designated areas), or
- Within Singapore (including Zero-GST/Licensed/Bonded warehouses) but outside the FTZs or designated areas.
Generally, all supplies of services made in Singapore in the course, or to further the business, are subject to GST at the prevailing rate.
In the Guide, IRAS has provided an overview of the applicable zero-rating conditions for such services provided in each of the three main geographical regions. Further details of the GST treatment of the various logistics services have been elaborated in the Guide.
This e-Tax Guide replaces the IRAS‘s e-Tax Guide―GST Guide for the Freight Forwarding Industry (4th Edition) published on 1 June 2010.
Source: This article was extracted from the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) website.