5 September 2012
Published on 3 September 2012, this e-Tax Guide issued by the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS), provides details of the new “Approved Refiner and Consolidator Scheme (ARCS)”.
The scheme is a measure to ease cash flow and compliance of qualifying refiners and consolidators of “Investment Precious Metals (IPM)” in their payment of GST on import and purchase of raw materials as announced by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance in his 2012 Budget Statement, as well as to relieve input tax incurred in their refining activities.
With effect from 1 October 2012, the importation and supply of IPM in Singapore are exempt from GST. IPM for GST exemption purposes refers to gold, silver or platinum in the form of a bar, ingot, wafer and coin which meets qualifying criteria. The supply of IPM for export continues to be zero-rated, provided that the relevant export documents are maintained.
From 1 October 2012, the ARCS will be introduced. An ARCS person will enjoy the following benefits:
- GST suspension on importation of goods
- Waiver of GST payment on goods supplied between ARCS persons, and
- Special input tax recovery for ARCS persons, as compared to the input tax claims allowable under normal GST rules following the GST exemption of IPM.
To give legislative effect to the scheme, amendments will be made to the GST Act and GST (General) Regulations with effect from 1 October 2012.
The e-Tax Guide covers the following:
- Benefits of the ARCS for qualifying refiners and consolidators
- Eligibility conditions and application procedure of the ARCS for refiners and consolidators, and
- Responsibilities and reporting requirements under ARCS for approved refiners and consolidators.
More details about the ARCS can be found in the IRAS e-Tax Guide.
Source: This article was extracted from the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) website. Visit www.iras.gov.sg for more information.