Import tax (GST) on goods from China to Singapore

Updated 21 Oct 2026

The short version

• Singapore's import tax is GST, at 9%. Singapore Customs collects it on goods coming into the country.
• With us, it's 9% of the value of your goods. We pay the tax for your shipment and show it on our invoice as import tax, next to the freight. We don't add it on our freight.
• Nothing to pay at your door: the invoice is paid before we dispatch.
• No customs duty on everyday goods. Duty applies only to alcohol, tobacco, motor vehicles and fuel.

How Singapore taxes imported goods

GST at 9% applies to most goods imported into Singapore. Singapore Customs works it out on the value of the goods together with freight and insurance, and collects it when the goods come in, usually through the courier or forwarder that brings them in.

Goods worth S$400 or less that arrive by air or post have their own rules: shops and platforms registered for Singapore GST charge it at checkout, which is why some shops add GST when they deliver straight to Singapore. Goods that arrive by sea are taxed at import, whatever their value. The full rules are on IRAS and Singapore Customs.

What you pay when you ship with us

Every shipment, air or sea, is invoiced as freight + import tax of 9% of your goods value. We pay the tax to Singapore Customs as part of bringing your shipment in. That's why we ask for the total value of your goods with every order list.

You pay the invoice by PayNow or bank transfer before we dispatch. Rates for the freight part are on our China to Singapore shipping page, or work it out with the volumetric weight and CBM calculators.

Declare the real value

• Use what you paid for the goods. Customs checks declared values.
• A low declaration slows everyone down. If customs questions a value, it can hold up your shipment and the others travelling with it.
• We may ask for proof of purchase (an order screenshot) for bigger items, so the declaration holds up if customs asks.

Customs duty

Singapore charges customs or excise duty on four groups of goods only: intoxicating liquors, tobacco products, motor vehicles, and petroleum products. We don't ship alcoholic drinks or tobacco, so for the things people usually order from China (clothes, furniture, electronics, homeware) there's no duty, only the 9% import tax.

Customs clearance and permits

• We clear customs for your shipment. For everyday goods there's no permit for you to apply for.
• Some goods need a permit from a Singapore agency: medicines and health products, fresh meat, seafood, fruit and vegetables, seeds, and radio equipment like walkie-talkies. Ask us first on WhatsApp before you buy these. Snacks and packaged food ship as Sensitive goods: declare them.
• Air-cons, fridges, clothes dryers, TVs, water heaters and three-phase motors need NEA registration before import (free at go.gov.sg/elsportal).
• Not sure about an item? Search it in Can I ship this? on our homepage.

Does customs slow my shipment down?

Clearance is part of the door-to-door time we quote: about 4–5 working days by air and 2–4 weeks by sea (est.). Sensitive goods can take a day or two longer, and we can't speed up a shipment once it is with Singapore customs.