Goods and Services Tax (GST) – Updates and Reminder to get started on your GST Rate Change Preparations !
September 19, 2022In Budget 2022, the Minister for Finance announced that the GST rate will be increased in 2-steps from 7% to 8% on 1 Jan 2023 and from 8% to 9% on 1 Jan 2024.
In our mailer dated 24 Feb 2022, we had highlighted the things that you need to know and to prepare for the first rate change on 1 Jan 2023.
A recent IRAS survey held in June showed that half of businesses have started on their rate change preparation. Among businesses from the retail industry, a significant portion had indicated they would like to have further information to assist in their rate change preparations.
In this mailer, we have provided the list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) here which are most relevant to retail businesses, as well as various resources to help you in your preparation.
1. START YOUR PREPARATIONS FOR GST RATE CHANGE NOW
The first rate change from 7% to 8% will take effect from 1 Jan 2023. Businesses will have about four months from now to prepare for the first rate change. If you have not started your preparations, we strongly encourage you to start your preparation now for a smooth transition to the new GST rate.
To check if your business is ready for the rate change, please use this checklist to ensure necessary actions are carried out timely to prepare for the rate change.
2. FAQs – GST RATE CHANGE 2023
Please refer to here for the list of FAQs on the application of the GST rate change rules for scenarios that are most relevant to retail businesses.
For an overview of the things that you need to know and to prepare for the rate change, you can refer to the EDM here for details.
3. RESOURCES ON RATE CHANGE
If your business has transactions that straddle 1 Jan 2023, you will need to familiarise yourself with the rate change transitional rules to ensure that you charge the correct GST rate. For a step-by-step guide for charging GST on transactions straddling rate change, you can refer to the flowchart in ‘Annex B’ provided in our e-Tax Guide ‘2023 GST Rate Change: A Guide for GST-registered Businesses (Third edition)’.
You can also view our video on our webpage ‘Preparing for GST Rate Change’ 1 which highlights the key contents covered in the e-Tax Guide.
4. BUSINESS READINESS POLL
We would also appreciate 2 minutes of your time to complete a short survey in the link here, for IRAS to better understand your readiness for the rate change.
ENQUIRIES
Should you have further enquiries on the GST Rate Change, which are not addressed in the e-Tax Guide or webpage kindly email your questions to anwar@sra.org.sg BY 30 Sep 2022