11 April 2012

In a response to a question raised in the Parliamentary sitting on 9 April 2012, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) clarified that the GST exemption does not extend to retail sale of gold products like gold jewellery and collectors’ gold coins.

Investment–grade gold is likened to a financial asset that is actively traded in international exchanges, just like other financial instruments such as stocks and bonds and thus, do not attract GST.

GST exemption does not depend on who the buyers and sellers are. The prescribed definition and attributes of “investment-grade” must be met and it must be produced by accredited refineries.

The prescribed definition ensures that the gold is indeed of investment-grade quality and be readily accepted for settlement by international exchanges.

In addition IRAS is taking steps to monitor the online sales of gold bars to ensure that GST exemption is only on sale of investment-grade gold that meet the prescribed definition, be it online or otherwise.

Source: Ministry of Finance