Selling to Singapore in 2026: 9% GST on items up to S$400 for Etsy, eBay and Shopify sellers
Singapore charges 9% GST on goods from abroad, and almost nothing pays customs duty. On items of S$400 or less sent by air or post, GST is charged at checkout by Etsy, eBay or a GST-registered seller; if the seller is not registered, small parcels usually come in GST-free. Here is what Etsy and eBay collect, why most small Shopify shops never have to register (the S$1 million and S$100,000 tests), what happens above S$400, and how to stop your buyer paying twice, with an official source and date for every rule.
Singapore at a glance
| How you sell | Who charges Singapore GST | What the buyer pays on arrival |
|---|---|---|
| Etsy, item under S$400 (excl. shipping) | Etsy, at checkout (9% on item and shipping) | Normally nothing |
| eBay, item up to S$400 | eBay, at checkout (9%) | Normally nothing |
| Own shop (e.g. Shopify), GST-registered under OVR, item up to S$400 | You, at checkout (9%), paid to IRAS | Nothing, if you passed the GST details to the carrier |
| Own shop, not registered, parcel CIF S$400 or less | Nobody | Normally nothing (import GST relief, air or post) |
| Not collected at checkout and CIF over S$400 | Singapore Customs, at import | 9% GST on the full CIF value, plus any courier admin fee |
Liquor and tobacco never get the relief and always pay at import. Sea and land imports do not get the S$400 relief.
How GST on low-value goods works
In Singapore, low-value goods are items with a sales value of S$400 or less that are imported by air or post. The sales value is the price of the item only, without transport, insurance, GST or duty. Since 1 January 2023, GST-registered overseas sellers and marketplaces charge GST on them at checkout.
Singapore GST is 9%. On low-value goods it is charged on the item price plus shipping: in IRAS’s own example, a S$390 item with S$35 shipping carries S$38.25 GST (S$463.25 in total).
The S$400 limit is checked per item, not per parcel: several items of S$400 or less each from a GST-registered seller are all taxed at checkout, even if the shipment is worth more than S$400 in total.
Import GST relief still applies: Singapore Customs charges no GST at import on air or postal parcels with a cost, insurance and freight (CIF) value of S$400 or less, except liquor and tobacco. If the seller is not GST-registered and the CIF value is over S$400, GST is charged at import on the full value. Several parcels from the same sender on the same flight are added together.
Worked examples
Our arithmetic at 9% GST, sent by post or air to a consumer in Singapore. The courier admin fee varies by carrier and is not included.
| Order | GST at checkout | GST at import |
|---|---|---|
| Etsy or eBay, S$60 item + S$10 shipping | S$6.30 | S$0.00 |
| Own shop, not GST-registered, S$60 item + S$10 shipping (CIF S$70) | S$0.00 | S$0.00 |
| Own shop, not GST-registered, S$450 item + S$20 shipping (CIF S$470) | S$0.00 | S$42.30 + courier fee |
| Etsy, S$450 item + S$20 shipping (Etsy does not collect at S$400 or more) | S$0.00 | S$42.30 + courier fee |
Selling on Etsy or eBay
Etsy collects Singapore GST when the buyer is in Singapore, the goods are sent from outside Singapore and the item value (excluding shipping) is less than S$400. GST is charged on the item and shipping, and Etsy alone pays it to IRAS; sellers do not register with IRAS for these sales. Etsy recommends a packing slip showing the GST amount and a note that Etsy collected it. Etsy does not collect GST on items of S$400 or more.
eBay collects Singapore GST on imported low-value goods with an item value up to and including S$400 when the buyer chooses a Singapore delivery address. The seller still receives the item price plus postage, and eBay pays the GST to IRAS.
A GST-registered electronic marketplace that is treated as the supplier must charge Singapore GST on all low-value goods sold through it to non-registered Singapore customers, whether or not the individual sellers are GST-registered. Those sales are its responsibility, not the seller’s.
So on marketplace sales you do not register for or charge Singapore GST yourself. Note the small difference in wording: IRAS and eBay use “S$400 or less”, Etsy’s help page says “less than S$400”, so an item priced exactly at S$400 is not taxed at checkout on Etsy. Above the limit, the buyer pays GST at import if the parcel’s CIF value is over S$400.
Selling from your own shop (Shopify, WooCommerce)
An overseas seller must register for Singapore GST under the overseas vendor registration (OVR) regime only if its global turnover is over S$1 million a year and its sales of low-value goods and remote services to Singapore consumers are over S$100,000 a year. Registration is under a simplified pay-only regime.
A GST-registered overseas seller charges GST at checkout to customers who are not GST-registered (and to registered businesses buying for private use), and must pass to the carrier, for each item, whether GST was paid and its GST registration number, so the parcel is not taxed again at import.
Both tests must be met: a shop with less than S$1 million in worldwide sales does not have to register, however much it sells to Singapore. Most small Etsy, eBay and Shopify sellers are therefore not registered, charge no Singapore GST at checkout, and their buyers pay nothing on parcels with a CIF value of S$400 or less. If your parcel is over S$400 CIF, tell the buyer that 9% GST and a courier fee will be due on delivery, or ship DDP.
Customs duty and paying twice
Singapore charges customs or excise duty on only four groups of goods: intoxicating liquors, tobacco products, motor vehicles, and petroleum products and biodiesel blends. Other goods pay no duty, though GST may apply.
If a buyer is charged Singapore GST again at import although GST was paid at checkout (usually because the carrier did not get the GST details in time), the buyer pays the import GST to get the parcel and then asks the seller for a refund with proof of the GST paid.
Checklist for sellers shipping to Singapore
- Marketplace sale: let Etsy or eBay charge the GST; on Etsy, put a packing slip in the parcel showing the GST amount.
- Own shop: check both registration tests (over S$1 million worldwide and over S$100,000 of low-value sales to Singapore consumers a year).
- Check each item’s price (without shipping) against S$400, and each parcel’s CIF value against S$400.
- Do not send several parcels to the same buyer on the same flight expecting each to stay under S$400: they are added together.
- Do not ship liquor or tobacco under these rules.
- Describe goods precisely and declare the value correctly; see how to fill in CN22 and CN23.
Our landed cost calculator does not cover Singapore as a destination yet (it covers the US, UK, EU, Canada and Australia), so use the figures above. Compare with selling to Australia (GST up to A$1,000), selling to New Zealand (GST up to NZ$1,000), Norway’s VOEC, the UK’s £135 rule and the EU’s IOSS scheme, or read DDP vs DAP for small sellers.
This page is general information, not legal, tax or customs advice. GST registration has its own conditions; check the IRAS and Singapore Customs pages or ask a tax adviser before registering. See the disclaimer.
Sources for this page
- Overseas businesses supplying remote services and low-value goods to Singapore, Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS). Accessed 3 Nov 2026. Verified
- GST on Low-Value Goods, Singapore Customs. Accessed 1 Nov 2026. Verified
- GST on Imported Low-Value Goods (consumers), Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS). Accessed 3 Nov 2026. Verified
- Current GST rates, Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS). Accessed 1 Nov 2026. Verified
- Paying GST and Duty for Postal / Courier Items, Singapore Customs. Accessed 1 Nov 2026. Verified
- Custom Fees and Physical VAT Collection (Selling to buyers in Singapore), Etsy Help. Accessed 1 Nov 2026. Verified
- Tax policy (Items imported into Singapore), eBay Singapore. Accessed 3 Nov 2026. Verified
- Overseas Vendor Registration Regime, Singapore Customs. Accessed 1 Nov 2026. Verified
- Duties and Dutiable Goods Overview, Singapore Customs. Accessed 1 Nov 2026. Verified
Rules change often: the latest change we tracked was on 10 Nov 2026 (US: the 178 China Section 301 product exclusions are extended to 9 January 2027). Alerts send one short email, with the source, only when a rule changes on a route you pick.