Summary of Responses to Public Consultation on the Draft Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill 2019

1. The Ministry of Finance (MOF) invited the public to provide feedback on the draft Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill 2019 (“Draft Bill) from 5 July to 26 July 2019^[1]. The Draft Bill proposed legislative amendments relating to the planned introduction of GST on imported services from 1 January 2020, which was announced in Budget 2018. The introduction of GST on imported services will ensure that our tax rules are updated, such that both imported and local services are on a level playing field, and accorded the same GST treatment. The Draft Bill also proposed changes arising from the periodic review of the GST system to ease business compliance and clarify existing legislation.

2. The feedback received mostly pertained to the following changes: 

- Refining the design parameters for GST on imported services;

- Updating the GST treatment for digital payment tokens; and

- Introducing definitions of “accountant” and “advocate and solicitor” for purposes of appeals to the GST Board of Review.

Responses to the feedback are in Annex A (374 KB).

3. Of the 31 suggestions received, 13 were accepted, and where applicable, revisions have been incorporated to the draft text of the Bill. The remaining suggestions were not accepted, as they were inconsistent with the policy objectives of the proposed legislative changes or with legislative drafting conventions.

4. The proposed legislative changes will be incorporated into the Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill 2019 to be tabled in Parliament in the last quarter of 2019.

5. MOF thanks all individuals and organisations who have taken the time and effort to provide their inputs, and for this continued partnership in helping Singapore design and implement public policies. This partnership is important in ensuring that we deliver effective and better solutions. 

Issued by: 
Ministry of Finance
Singapore
30 September 2019 

^[1] Please refer to the earlier press release issued on 5 July 2019 for the public consultation documents on the draft Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill 2019.