Scope and the difference between exemption and zero-rating
The twentieth edition, dated 30 January 2026, concerns physical investment gold, silver and platinum. From 1 October 2012, qualifying investment precious metals (IPM) imported or locally delivered are exempt. Export sales from Singapore are zero-rated with evidence; sales of metal already outside Singapore are out of scope. Non-qualifying metals, including jewellery, scrap and collector/proof coins, remain taxable. Exempt local sales can restrict input tax, while zero-rated exports remain taxable supplies for input recovery. The cover is dated 2026 but the displayed amendment log ends in January 2024; no unlisted substantive 2026 amendment is assumed.
Bars, ingots and wafers: all four tests
All four criteria must be satisfied: gold purity at least 99.5%, silver at least 99.9% or platinum at least 99%; capability of trading on the international bullion market; an internationally accepted quality mark; and no decorative or collector character. Gold/silver refiners on current or former LBMA Good Delivery lists, platinum refiners on current or former LPPM lists, or aspiring listed refiners endorsed by Enterprise Singapore satisfy the refiner-based market test. Check the physical hallmark/name, metal type and purity against the recognised list. Bank branding alone is insufficient unless the product is made by a qualifying refiner.
Decorative exclusions and named qualifying designs
The exclusion of decorative/collector bars replaced the difficult spot-price criterion from 1 September 2016. Premium pricing does not by itself disqualify ordinary bullion, but rarity, finishing or aesthetic value can. Pendants with holes/hangers and unusual boat, animal or heart shapes are excluded; ordinary bullion is commonly rectangular, trapezoidal, square or round. Qualifying refiners do not make every decorative product exempt. The guide specifically accepts PAMP Suisse Fortuna, PAMP Suisse Lunar and Argor-Heraeus Gold KineBar because their trading value is metal-based and they are accepted internationally.
Coins: legal tender, purity and the prescribed list
Coins require the same minimum metal purities and must be or have been legal tender in their country of origin. Use the prescribed lists, excluding proof, numismatic and collector versions even when the ordinary coin has the same series name. Gold/silver UK Britannia minted from 2013 meets purity and is exempt from 1 April 2013 under remission; Oriental Border bullion is treated similarly on the stated assumption that it belongs to and has the same specification as that range. The three complete metal-specific lists below preserve the source’s stated effective dates.
Complete prescribed platinum coin list
“—” means no separate effective date is given in the source’s main list; the names are product identifiers, not an extension to collector editions.
| Coin / series | Source effective date or qualification |
|---|---|
| America Eagle | — |
| Australia Koala | — |
| Australia Platypus | — |
| Canada Maple Leaf | — |
| Austria Philharmonic | 1 Sep 2016 |
| United Kingdom Britannia | 23 May 2018 |
| United Kingdom Lunar | 23 May 2018 |
| United Kingdom The Queen’s Beasts | 23 May 2018 |
| Australia Kangaroo | 1 Sep 2019 |
| Australia Lunar | 1 Sep 2019 |
| United Kingdom Royal Arms | 6 Aug 2021 |
| South Africa Big Five | 6 Aug 2021 |
| United Kingdom The Royal Tudor Beasts | 23 Jun 2023 |
Complete prescribed silver coin list
“—” means no separate effective date is given in the source’s main list; the names are product identifiers, not an extension to collector editions.
| Coin / series | Source effective date or qualification |
|---|---|
| America Eagle | — |
| Australia Kookaburra | — |
| Australia Koala | — |
| Australia Lunar | — |
| Austria Philharmonic | — |
| Canada Maple Leaf | — |
| China Panda | — |
| Mexico Libertad | — |
| United Kingdom Britannia | 1 Apr 2013; minted from 2013 |
| Armenia Noah’s Ark | 1 Sep 2016 |
| Australia Kangaroo | 1 Sep 2016 |
| Australia Saltwater Crocodile | 1 Sep 2016 |
| Canada Birds of Prey | 1 Sep 2016 |
| Canada Wildlife | 1 Sep 2016 |
| United Kingdom Lunar | 1 Sep 2016 |
| United Kingdom The Queen’s Beasts | 1 Sep 2016 |
| Australia Funnel-Web Spider | 23 May 2018 |
| Canada Superman™ S-Shield | 23 May 2018 |
| Canada Tree of Life | 23 May 2018 |
| South Africa Krugerrand | 17 Jan 2019 |
| Australia Dragon Rectangular | 1 Sep 2019 |
| United Kingdom Royal Arms | 1 Sep 2019 |
| Canada Creatures of the North | 6 Aug 2021 |
| Canada Goose | 6 Aug 2021 |
| United Kingdom Myths and Legends | 23 Jun 2023 |
| United Kingdom The Royal Tudor Beasts | 23 Jun 2023 |
Complete prescribed gold coin list
“—” means no separate effective date is given in the source’s main list; the names are product identifiers, not an extension to collector editions.
| Coin / series | Source effective date or qualification |
|---|---|
| America Buffalo | — |
| Australia Kangaroo Nugget | — |
| Australia Lunar | — |
| Austria Philharmonic | — |
| Canada Maple Leaf | — |
| China Panda | — |
| Malaysia Kijang Emas | — |
| Mexico Libertad | — |
| Singapore Lion | — |
| United Kingdom Britannia | 1 Apr 2013; minted from 2013 |
| Canada Call of the Wild | See members |
| United Kingdom Lunar | 1 Sep 2016 |
| United Kingdom The Queen’s Beasts | 1 Sep 2016 |
| Australia RAM Kangaroo | 23 May 2018 |
| Australia Dragon Rectangular | 1 Sep 2019 |
| United Kingdom Royal Arms | 1 Sep 2019 |
| United Kingdom Myths and Legends | 23 Jun 2023 |
| United Kingdom The Royal Tudor Beasts | 23 Jun 2023 |
Import permits are required even for exempt IPM
Take an exemption permit through TradeNet: INP message, GTR declaration, IGPM receipt code, correct HS code. Product codes are Bar/Ingot/Wafer or Goldcoin/Silvercoin/Platinumcoin. For bars give the producing refiner as supplier; for coins give the prescribed coin name as brand. CA/SC Code 1 declares purity as a number without a percent sign, such as 99.8. No permit or misclassifying taxable metal as exempt is an offence. MES and analogous import-suspension schemes must not replace the exemption permit. Do not use MES for materials to be refined into locally exempt IPM or overseas supplies that would be exempt if made in Singapore.
Erroneous import tax, time of supply and invoices
A registered business that mistakenly paid import GST on genuine IPM may write to IRAS with proof and seek approval; after approval claim the refund in the next F5 Box 7. Local IPM supply time is generally the earlier of invoice or receipt of consideration. Issue an exempt invoice within 30 days, including unique invoice number/date; supplier name/address/registration number; customer name/address; quantity and total payable. Each bar/ingot/wafer description needs metal, weight, purity, refiner, serial number if applicable and unit price. Each coin needs metal, prescribed name, weight and unit price. Retain the invoice.
Normal input attribution and the de minimis exception
Direct costs of exempt local IPM, such as local storage, are normally not deductible. Costs exclusively for exports of IPM/non-IPM or local taxable non-IPM are normally deductible under ordinary conditions. Shared office rent, utilities, transport, IT or low-value goods are residual costs, apportioned by taxable supplies over total supplies. The de minimis exception requires both exempt supplies averaging no more than S$40,000 monthly and no more than 5% of total supplies in the period; qualifying business input tax including directly exempt costs can then be claimed. Provisional period claims require longer-period adjustments under the Partial Exemption guide. Exclude customer-accounting receipts and reverse-charged imported services from both numerator and denominator of the recovery ratio.
Reverse charge: imported services and low-value goods
Since 1 January 2020, registered businesses or GST groups without full input recovery may need reverse charge on imported services. Since 1 January 2023 it extends to imported LVG, including purchases via local/overseas sellers, marketplaces and redeliverers regardless of their registration. Account as supplier, then claim only under input-recovery rules, subject to excluded supplies. Unregistered businesses with imported services plus LVG exceeding S$1 million in 12 months and no full recovery if registered can become liable to register. Services/LVG directly attributable to taxable supplies are generally excluded for an RC business unless a prescribed fixed rate or special all-input formula applies.
Toll refining and the ARCS alternative
Under toll refining the refiner never owns the materials or resulting metal; the customer exports its materials for processing, not a sale to the refiner. If refined IPM is sold locally exempt or delivered overseas as an out-of-scope sale that would be exempt locally, the original materials’ GST is not deductible under normal rules. The Approved Refiner and Consolidator Scheme can suspend import GST on materials for refining and permit input recovery for the first sale of newly refined IPM. Approved refiners have regulation 46A(16) full business input recovery despite partial exemption and therefore are not RC businesses. Consolidators do not automatically receive every approved-refiner privilege; eligibility and claims require the ARCS guide.
Barter, loco London gold and open-market values
Non-cash settlement creates two supplies measured separately at their open-market values. In example 2 a seller’s scrap gold is standard-rated at 9%; the consolidator paying by crediting a loco London account makes an exempt unallocated-gold supply where no physical delivery occurs under Fourth Schedule 1(n). Exchanging IPM for jewellery likewise creates exempt local IPM and taxable jewellery, not merely a taxable cash difference. Do not treat a book-entry commodity holding as the same thing as physical IPM delivery.
Gifts, deregistration and GST-return boxes
Free disposal of business IPM can be deemed a supply where input tax was allowed on that metal or production materials. Local deemed IPM supply is exempt, with open-market value reported in Box 3 and no output GST. On deregistration, exclude IPM when testing the S$10,000 asset threshold; if taxable assets exceed it, output GST applies only to taxable non-IPM assets with prior input allowance. Report ordinary exempt local IPM in Box 3 and exports in Box 2. Exempt IPM purchases/imports are not reported in the GST return, but retain permits, orders, invoices and delivery records.
Exempt invoice worked example
Appendix A’s 1 October 2018 sample shows a 1,000-gram PAMP SA gold bar with serial A333333 at S$70 per gram, total S$70,000, and two Canada Maple Leaf one-ounce gold coins at S$1,727.78 each, total S$3,455.56. The invoice total is S$73,455.56, with exempt GST S$0. These are historical sample prices and identities demonstrating required product detail, not a current valuation or a real customer invoice.
Quarterly input-tax calculation: complete Appendix B
For the quarter ending 31 March 2024, standard-rated sales S$1,000,000 plus zero-rated S$2,000,000 and exempt S$500,000 total S$3,500,000. Taxable direct input is A S$72,000 plus F S$1,800, or S$73,800. Residual G/H/I total S$900 + S$45,000 + S$562.50 = S$46,462.50. The ratio S$3,000,000/S$3,500,000 rounds to the nearest whole percent, 86%; residual claim is S$39,957.75 and total provisional claim S$113,757.75. Directly exempt C/D/E is not claimed. The transaction table preserves all nine expense categories; imported broker and IT amounts require RC where applicable. Longer-period adjustment remains necessary.
| Item | Expense (S$ before GST) | GST (S$) | Attribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | Non-IPM S$800,000 | 72,000 | Direct taxable: claim |
| B | IPM purchase/import | No GST | Not applicable |
| C | Refining 50,000 + materials 200,000 for local IPM | 22,500 | Direct exempt: blocked |
| D | Transport 10,000 for local IPM | 900 | Direct exempt: blocked |
| E | Overseas broker for local IPM | 225 | Direct exempt / RC: blocked |
| F | Storage 20,000 for exported IPM | 1,800 | Direct taxable: claim |
| G | Mixed transport 10,000 | 900 | Residual |
| H | Office rent 500,000 | 45,000 | Residual |
| I | Overseas IT | 562.50 | Residual / RC |
Prescribed series: all named members and historic effective dates
Appendix C’s series-member tables below preserve every named gold, silver and platinum member, including Canadian launch dates and the South African six-month release sequence. Listing a series does not include its proof/collector versions or create blanket exemption for products not prescribed. Verify the precise coin against the applicable metal table, purity and effective date. Contact IRAS GST Division for tax interpretation and Singapore Customs for import-permit declarations.
| Metal | Series | All source-named members | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | Canada Call of the Wild | 2014 Howling Wolf; 2015 Growling Cougar; 2016 Roaring Grizzly | 1 Sep 2016 |
| Gold | Canada Call of the Wild | 2017 Elk | 9 Jul 2017 |
| Gold | Canada Call of the Wild | 2018 Golden Eagle | 23 May 2018 |
| Gold | Canada Call of the Wild | 2019 Moose | 1 Feb 2019 |
| Gold | Canada Call of the Wild | 2020 Bobcat | Date of launch |
| Gold | UK The Queen’s Beasts | Lion of England; Griffin of Edward III; Red Dragon of Wales; Unicorn of Scotland; Black Bull of Clarence; Falcon of the Plantagenets; Yale of Beaufort; White Lion of Mortimer; White Horse of Hanover; White Greyhound of Richmond; The Queen’s Beasts | See metal list |
| Gold | UK Myths and Legends | Robin Hood; Maid Marian; Little John | 23 Jun 2023 |
| Gold | UK The Royal Tudor Beasts | Lion of England; Yale of Beaufort | 23 Jun 2023 |
| Silver | UK The Queen’s Beasts | Lion of England; Griffin of Edward III; Red Dragon of Wales; Unicorn of Scotland; Black Bull of Clarence; Falcon of the Plantagenets; Yale of Beaufort; White Lion of Mortimer; White Horse of Hanover; White Greyhound of Richmond; The Queen’s Beasts | See metal list |
| Silver | UK Myths and Legends | Robin Hood; Maid Marian; Little John | 23 Jun 2023 |
| Silver | UK The Royal Tudor Beasts | Lion of England; Yale of Beaufort | 23 Jun 2023 |
| Platinum | UK The Queen’s Beasts | Lion of England; Griffin of Edward III; Red Dragon of Wales; Unicorn of Scotland; Black Bull of Clarence; Falcon of the Plantagenets; Yale of Beaufort; White Lion of Mortimer; White Horse of Hanover; White Greyhound of Richmond | See metal list |
| Platinum | UK The Royal Tudor Beasts | Lion of England; Yale of Beaufort | 23 Jun 2023 |
| Silver | Canada Wildlife | 2011 Silver Timber Wolf; 2011 Silver Grizzly; 2012 Silver Cougar; 2012 Silver Moose; 2013 Silver Pronghorn Antelope; 2013 Silver Wood Bison | 1 Sep 2016 |
| Silver | Canada Birds of Prey | 2014 Peregrine Falcon; 2014 Bald Eagle; 2015 Red-tailed Hawk; 2015 Great Horned Owl | 1 Sep 2016 |
| Silver | Canada Creatures of the North | 2020 The Kraken; 2021 Werewolf | 6 Aug 2021 |
| Platinum | South Africa Big Five | Elephant; lion; rhino; leopard; buffalo | Every six months 2020–2022; exempt 6 Aug 2021 |
Official source
This article independently explains the substantive contents of the official PDF, including the relevant conditions, procedures and annexes. The linked document remains the authoritative source for its original wording, and later changes should be checked separately.
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