Are taxes due upon import / purchase of bullion in Singapore?
Singapore Precious Metals & GST – Overview
Starting on 1 October 2012, certain investment grade gold, silver and platinum can be imported or sold GST
(tax) free in Singapore.
Singapore tax authorities define non taxable bullion as "Investment Precious Metals" or "IPM" whereas taxable bullion is referred to as "non-IPM".
There are no capital gains taxes in Singapore so this page focuses purely on the Goods and Services Tax (GST) - similar to VAT- which applies upon import or purchase of bullion.
The completed GST exemption rules have been published as an IRAS e-Tax Guide titled GST: Guide on Exemption of Investment Precious Metals (IPM). - Fourteenth Edition
The tax exemptions are meant to encourage the trading and storage of physical investment grade bullion
but are limited to a clearly defined subset of the bullion market. Numismatic
coins, jewellery, gold / silver gift items or any bullion not defined as
"IPM" are not tax exempted and will still be subject to GST (currently 7%).
In broad terms the bill states four basic qualifying criteria which must be fulfilled:
- Purity of silver, gold, and platinum should be 99.9%, 99.5% and 99% respectively
- Is capable of being traded on the international bullion market (see detailed criteria below)
- Bears a mark or characteristic that is internationally accepted as guaranteeing its quality
- Trades at a price based on the spot price of the metal it contains.
In addition the following detailed criteria apply:
- Only a subset of investment coins are tax exempt: See SINGAPORE TAX FREE BULLION COINS
- Only bars refined by current or past LBMA / LPPM accredited refiners are tax free: See SINGAPORE TAX FREE BULLION BARS
- Furthermore IE Singapore (a Singapore government entity) can qualify additional bullion refiners to be tax exempt
As a Singapore Bullion Market Association (SBMA) member Silver Bullion Pte Ltd,
along with the Singapore Mint, had been selected in the second quarter 2012
by the Ministry of Finance to provide feedback on the type of investment grade coins
that will be tax exempt.
We are proud to note that with our subscribers' help and submitted feedback (see July 2012 newsletter)
the Ministry of Finance has re-instated the Silver & Platinum American Eagle coins as tax exempt.
The gold american eagles remain non-exempted due to the minimum purity requirement.
Singapore Tax Free Bullion Coins
These investment coins are classified as Investment Precious Metals (IPM) and are GST exempt:
GOLD
- American Buffalo
- Australia Kangaroo Nugget
- Australia Lunar
- Austria Philharmonic
- Canada Maple Leaf
- China Panda
- Malaysia Kijang Emas
- Mexico Libertad
- Singapore Lion
- United Kingdom Britannia (from 2013 onwards)
- Canada Call of the Wild 4-coin series
- United Kingdom Lunar
- United Kingdom The Queen's Beasts 10-coin series
- Australia RAM Kangaroo
- Australia Dragon Rectangular
- United Kingdom Royal Arms
SILVER
- American Eagle
- Australia Kookaburra
- Australia Koala
- Australia Lunar
- Austria Philharmonic
- Canada Maple Leaf
- China Panda
- Mexico Libertad
- United Kingdom Britannia (from 2013 onwards)
- Australia Saltwater Crocodile
- Canada Wildlife 6-coin series
- Canada Birds of Prey 4-coin series
- United Kingdom Lunar
- Armenia Noah's Ark
- Australia Kangaroo
- United Kingdom The Queen's Beasts 10-coin series
- Australia Funnel-Web Spider
- Canada Superman™ S-Shield
- Canada Tree of Life
- South Africa Krugerrand
- Australia Dragon Rectangular
- United Kingdom Royal Arms
PLATINUM
- American Eagle
- Australia Koala
- Australia Platypus
- Canada Maple Leaf
- Austria Philharmonic
- United Kingdom Britannia
- United Kingdom Lunar
Singapore Tax Free Bullion Bars
IPM status and tax exemptions for bars is determined according to the refiner (producer) of the bar as follows:
-
For gold and silver, a refiner included in the current or former Good Delivery list of the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA)
-
For platinum, a refiner included in the current or former Good Delivery
list of the London Platinum & Palladium Market (LPPM)
Please note that IPM Status
applies to all qualifying (see Basic Qualifying Criteria above) bars made by these refiners
and is not limited to the bulky (1,000 oz t silver and 400 oz t gold) good delivery bars.
For example the popular 100 oz Johnson Matthey silver bars are tax exempt as they fulfill all basic qualifying criteria and Johnson Matthey is a refiner in the LBMA list.
Credit Suisse branded gold bars are also tax exempt as they fulfill the basic qualifying criteria
and are refined by "Valcambi SA" which uses the logo "Essayeur Fondeur" - see mark on bar - and is a refiner on the LBMA list.
Beside the above list IE Singapore can add additional refiners.
- As of October 2012, there are no additional refiners qualified by IE Singapore.
Goods and Services Tax by Product (Effective October 1st, 2012)
Below we list the IPM Status by product for Local Pickup and Bonded S.T.A.R. Storage.
GOLD, PLATINUM & PALLADIUM BULLION
SILVER BULLION
Legend:
- Local Sale= Over the counter sale in Singapore
-
S.T.A.R. Bonded Storage
= Option of Tax free Storage in a bonded vault
- Stock= Nr. of units avaialable for immediate purchase for Local and S.T.A.R. Storage
Find out more on:
Note: If you paraphrase or copy portions of the above information ensure that you include an origin link back to
https://www.silverbullion.com.sg/AboutSingaporeInvestmentPreciousMetals.aspx.
