26 May 2016
On 25 May 2016, the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) issued a new e-Tax Guide, “GST: Guidelines on determining the belonging status of supplier and customer”.
The belonging status of a person affects the GST treatment of the services supplied or received by him. Specifically, it affects whether a supply of service is considered as made in Singapore and if so, whether the supply can qualify for zero-rating.
This e-Tax Guide aims to help businesses who make supplies of services to or in Singapore determine:
- whether they are considered as belonging in or outside Singapore, and
- whether their customers belong in or outside Singapore.
The place where a person belongs depends on where the person has his business establishment or fixed establishment, or if he has no such establishment, where his usual place of residence is.
Generally,
- if the person has such an establishment only in Singapore, he will be treated as belonging in Singapore.
- if the person has such establishments both in Singapore and outside Singapore as a supplier of services, the person would be treated as belonging in Singapore if the establishment in Singapore is most directly concerned with the supply.
- if the person is a recipient of services, he will be treated as belonging in Singapore if his establishment in Singapore is the establishment in which the services are most directly used or to be used.
The e-Tax Guide covers the following areas:
- Determining where the supplier belongs
- The customer’s business establishment and fixed establishment
- Determining where the customer belongs
- Usual place of residence
- Frequently asked questions
For further details, please refer to the IRAS’s website.
Source: This article was extracted from the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) website. Visit http://www.iras.gov.sg for more information.