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Buying from China, explained for Singapore companies

Written for the people who have to approve the purchase, file the paperwork and explain it later. General information, not tax or legal advice.

Importing from China to Singapore: GST, duty and permits

What you actually pay and actually file. The 9% GST and how it is calculated, the S$400 threshold and the two different ways it is measured, the four categories that attract duty, permits and controlled goods, and why the name on the import permit decides who can reclaim the GST.

Buying from Taobao for your company: the paperwork problem

Why a Taobao order is hard to expense in Singapore, what records are actually required, and the three ways companies handle it, compared honestly including on cost.

Taobao vs 1688: which one your order belongs on

Retail against wholesale, where the price difference genuinely comes from, when freight reverses the answer, and a rule of thumb by quantity.

Landed cost calculator: what an order costs delivered in Singapore

Put in the supplier's price and the freight and it works out the CIF value, the 9% GST with the S$400 air relief applied correctly, the sourcing fee if you buy through us, and the cost per unit, with the arithmetic shown beside every line and a worked example in words.

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