Press Releases

The Ministry of Finance will be conducting a public consultation on the draft GST (Amendment) Bill 2012 from 9 July to 27 July 2012.

Proposed Amendments

2. The draft GST (Amendment) Bill 2012 incorporates the following tax changes:

a) Budget 2012 change – This tax change was announced in the 2012 Budget Statement to facilitate the development of a gold trading hub in Singapore, and put the GST treatment for investment–grade gold and precious metals on par with other actively traded financial assets such as stocks and bonds. The changes seek to:

• exempt the import and supply of investment-grade gold and precious metals from GST; and
• introduce a new Approved Refiner and Consolidator Scheme to relieve cash flow for refiners and local consolidators.

b) Other changes – these changes arose from the regular review of the GST regime, and seek to improve GST administration and technical clarity. The changes include:

• extending the scope of GST zero-rating of prescribed financial services relating to goods situated outside Singapore;
• allowing the Comptroller and Minister to set conditions when granting GST remission;
• extending the Temporary Removal Scheme to goods that are removed temporarily from approved warehouses for repairs; and
• allowing zero-rating of repair services performed on qualified goods outside the Approved Specialized Warehouse;

Consultation Details

3. The public can access the consultation documents and explanations for the draft GST (Amendment) Bill 2012 on the Ministry of Finance's website (www.mof.gov.sg) and the REACH consultation portal (www.reach.gov.sg). Respondents may send their comments to the Ministry of Finance directly via the website, email, fax or post.

MINISTRY OF FINANCE
9 JULY 2012