Tag: Major Exporter Scheme

Fourth Edition of the IRAS e-Tax Guide “Major Exporter Scheme” issued

On By taxsgIn Corporate Tax, Goods and Services Tax

31 December 2015

On 18 December 2015, the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) issued the fourth edition of the e-Tax Guide, “GST: Major Exporter Scheme”.

The Major Exporter Scheme (MES) is a scheme whereby the payment of GST is suspended at the point of importation of goods. MES traders will be allowed to import non-dutiable goods without paying GST to Singapore Customs (‘SC’). Regulation 45 of the Goods and Services Tax (General) Regulations provides for the suspension of payment by GST-registered persons who qualify for the MES of GST on importation of non-dutiable goods.

GST-registered businesses applying for MES or whose MES status is due for renewal will have to submit the Assisted Self-Help Kit (ASK) declaration form, “ASK: Declaration Form on Completing Annual Review & Voluntary Disclosure of Errors” (Section 3 of ASK) certified by either their own in-house or external tax professionals who are Accredited Tax Practitioners (GST) or Accredited Tax Advisors (GST).

Businesses participating in the GST Assisted Compliance Assurance Programme (ACAP), holding a valid ACAP status will not be required to submit ASK declaration form if:

  • the Post ACAP Review (PAR) is performed; and
  • the “PAR Declaration” form (GST F28) is submitted.

Successful ACAP applicants also are not required to submit the ASK declaration form pending the result of ACAP review and submission of ACAP Report. If they subsequently withdraw from participating in ACAP, businesses are then required to perform and submit the ASK declaration form within three months. Should they fail to obtain an ACAP status, there may be a requirement for submission of the ASK declaration form on a case-by-case basis.

In the fourth edition, paragraphs 2.3 and 6.3 have been revised to reflect the streamlined procedure for submission of the ASK declaration form for businesses with ACAP status as outlined above.

The e-Tax Guide is available on the IRAS website.

The third edition was published on 18 September 2015.

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.

IRAS updates online content on Major Exporter Scheme

On By taxsgIn Corporate Tax, Latest Tax News

16 December 2015

The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) has updated its website to introduce a new online platform that provides easier recordkeeping for businesses under the Major Exporter Scheme (MES) scheme.

Major Exporter Scheme (MES) is a scheme whereby the payment of GST is suspended at the point of importation of goods. MES traders will be allowed to import non-dutiable goods without paying GST to Singapore Customs (SC).

Regulation 45 of the Goods and Services Tax (General) Regulations provides for the suspension of payment by GST-registered persons who qualify for the MES of GST on importation of non-dutiable goods. From 1 July 2006 onwards, such businesses will also enjoy GST suspension on goods removed from a Zero GST warehouse.

In this update, a new section, “Ease of compliance” has been inserted which outlines the TradeXchange Repository Service, an online platform for the consolidation of relevant trade documents for businesses to meet the recordkeeping requirements for imports and exports.

The key features of the TradeXchange Repository Service are:

  • the ability to search and view permit information, including supporting trade documents
  • the ability to configure alert notifications when the set of documents required for stitching is incompete/ready for viewing
  • easy to use filters for generation of document completeness reports.

For further details, please refer to the IRAS’s website.

The update was made on 14 December 2015.

Source: IRAS

IRAS issues e-Tax Guide “GST: General Guide for Businesses (10th Edition)”

On By taxsgIn Goods and Services Tax, Latest Tax News

7 January 2013

On 2 January 2012, the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (‘IRAS’) issued the tenth edition of the e-Tax Guide, “GST: General Guide for Businesses”.

This e-Tax Guide outlines how Goods and Services Tax (‘GST’) works in Singapore – the concepts and principles behind GST, registration, accounting and appeal process, offences and penalties as well as an overview of the various GST schemes are contained in this Guide.

In this edition, the section on the Major Exporter Scheme (‘MES’) has been updated.

Source: This article was extracted from the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) website. Visit http://www.iras.gov.sg for more information.

IRAS issues e-Tax Guide, “GST: Major Exporter Scheme (9th Edition)”

On By taxsgIn Goods and Services Tax, Latest Tax News

4 January 2013

On 2 January 2013, the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (‘IRAS’) issued the ninth edition of the e-Tax Guide, “GST: Major Exporter Scheme”.

Major Exporter Scheme (‘MES’) is a scheme whereby the payment of GST is suspended at the point of importation of goods. MES traders will be allowed to import non-dutiable goods without paying GST to Singapore Customs (‘SC’).

Regulation 45 of the Goods and Services Tax (General) Regulations provides for the suspension of payment by GST-registered persons who qualify for the MES of GST on importation of non-dutiable goods.

GST-registered businesses applying for MES or whose MES status is due for renewal on or after 1 January 2013 will have to submit the Assisted Self-Help Kit (ASK) declaration form “ASK: Declaration Form on Completing Annual Review & Voluntary Disclosure of Errors” (section 3 of ASK) certified by either their own in-house or external tax professionals who are Accredited Tax Practitioners (GST) or Accredited Tax Advisors (GST).

Alternatively, businesses can choose to participate in the GST Assisted Compliance Assurance Programme (‘ACAP’). Successful ACAP applicants do not need to submit the ASK declaration form pending the result of ACAP review and submission of ACAP Report. If businesses subsequently withdraw from participating in ACAP, they are required to perform and submit the ASK declaration form within three months. Businesses who fail to obtain an ACAP status may also be required to submit the ASK declaration form on a case-by-case basis.

In the ninth edition, certain paragraphs have been revised and renumbered, as well as new appendices added as follows:

• Appendix F: Specimen of Letter of Confirmation & Undertaking
• Appendix G: Form R1: Application for Renewal of Major Exporter Scheme.

Source: Source: This article was extracted from the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) website. Visit http://www.iras.gov.sg for more information.

Accredited tax practitioner with the SIATP to certify ASK declaration form with effect from 1 January 2013

On By taxsgIn General News

5 March 2013

GST Assisted Self-help Kit (ASK) is a self-assessment package which is designed to help GST-registered businesses manage their compliance effectively.

Under ASK, businesses who are applying for GST schemes, such as the Import GST Deferment Scheme (IGDS), Approved Marine Customer Scheme (AMCS) or Approved Contract Manufacturer and Trader (ACMT) Scheme must perform a self-review by way of an ASK declaration form.

With effect from 1 January 2013, one of the qualifying conditions for approval is that the ASK declaration form has to be certified by either the in-house or external tax professional who is accredited as an Accredited Tax Practitioner (GST) with the Singapore Institute of Accredited Tax Professionals (SIATP).

IRAS has on 1 March 2012, updated the following GST guides to reflect the above requirement on the application and renewal processes of the following schemes:

  • GST Guide on Import GST Deferment Scheme (Fifth Edition)
  • GST Guide for on Approved Contract Manufacturer and Trader (ACMT) Scheme (Ninth Edition)
  • GST Guide for the Marine Industry – 2011 Budget Changes (Third Edition)
  • GST Guide on Major Exporter Scheme (Seventh Edition).

GST-registered businesses may adopt ASK on a voluntary basis.
Source: Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS)