Was Your Permit Approved, Paid and Used? Where to Check
Was the permit filed under your company's UEN approved, was the duty or GST paid, and was it used to clear the goods? Each answer sits in a different place. To see whether it was used, go to Customs eServices and Singapore Customs' Permit Clearance Enquiry Service (PCES) (AskGov), not the Networked Trade Platform (NTP) that older guides name. It is free (Circular 02/2023) and needs no login (Singapore Customs).
Declaration Nexus is a Singapore customs broker and declaring agent. We prepare and file the TradeNet permit.
Run the free check first. If it shows a permit that has to be filed again, WhatsApp us the permit number and what the check showed. We'll tell you what we can do for you.
Rules checked against Singapore Customs, AskGov and Customs eServices pages on 12 November 2026.
In this article |
Approved, paid, used: where each status lives
Approval shows in TradeNet and in Customs' Trader Notification emails. Payment shows as a code on the permit and, for GIRO payments, a deduction on your bank statement. Whether it was used for cargo clearance shows in PCES.
Record | Where to see it | Who can see it | What you need |
Approved | TradeNet front-end or back-end shows Approved (with the permit number), Pending or Rejected (Singapore Customs). Trader Notification emails the permit number and approval date (Singapore Customs). | Registered TradeNet users, or you through your declaring agent (AskGov). | A TradeNet account, or a Trader Notification sign-up |
Paid | When the permit is approved, Customs processes payment through IBG and the permit carries a payment code: GF (deducted by GIRO from the importer's IBG account), G7 (from the declaring agent's) or G1 (paid at UOB; the goods stay under customs control until then) (Singapore Customs). | You, via a permit copy from the declaring agent (AskGov) and your bank statement, whose format differs across banks (Singapore Customs) | The permit or bank statement |
Used | PCES on Customs eServices (Circular 02/2023) | Anyone holding the permit number plus the UEN of the trader or of another party to the shipment | Permit number and UEN; no login |
Our advice: keep the permit number from the day it is approved, and check it twice: once before the goods move and once after. A permit that has already been used for cargo clearance cannot be amended or cancelled (Singapore Customs), so the first check is the one that leaves room to act. New to permits? See what a cargo clearance permit is.
How to use the Permit Clearance Enquiry Service
To search, PCES asks for two things: the permit number, and the trader's Unique Entity Number (UEN) or that of another party to the shipment. From 1 August 2022, ICA officers at the cargo checkpoints stopped manually endorsing Cargo Clearance Permits. Customs introduced PCES for traders who may still need that endorsement for business-to-business processes (Circular 02/2023).
Open the Permit Clearance Enquiry page (short address: go.gov.sg/permitclearanceenquiry).
Enter the permit number: up to 100 permits per search, import, export or transhipment, containerised or conventional (Customs eServices).
Enter a UEN linked to the permit: the importer's, exporter's, declaring agent's, handling agent's or carrier's (Circular 02/2023).
Search. Customs says the status changes as soon as the permit is cleared (Circular 02/2023).
Read that way, your own UEN as the importer or exporter should work even when an agent filed the permit.
NTP permit clearance enquiry: why older pages still say NTP
Customs' 2023 circular first placed PCES on the Networked Trade Platform. Its update table shows that on 26 June 2026 Customs changed the wording of paragraphs 2 and 4 and the FAQ to name Customs eServices in place of the Networked Trade Platform (NTP) (Circular 02/2023). Customs' own AskGov answer also says Customs eServices (AskGov).
Not every page has caught up. An ICA answer on AskGov still places PCES on the Networked Trade Platform (AskGov), as do older guides and some AI answers. If you searched "NTP permit clearance enquiry", use the Customs eServices page above.
"Not searchable" or "Not Utilised": what the result can mean
Customs gives one reason for "not searchable": PCES covers only permits that must be shown at a checkpoint for clearance (Circular 02/2023).
Read that beside a second Customs line: for containerised cargo imported by sea, the permit does not have to be shown at the inward checkpoint, while for air or land imports you present a copy (Singapore Customs). Customs does not join the two lines into one rule, so neither do we. If a sea-container import permit is not searchable, read those two lines first, and use the approval and payment records instead.
You cancelled the permit and it still shows "Not Utilised": Customs says the cancellation may still be processing, so try again later (Circular 02/2023).
Other cargo information: Customs points you to your freight forwarder, JP Online or PortNet (Circular 02/2023).
A parcel tracking number: PCES asks only for a permit number and UEN.
Want a quote for your declarations? Ask a Declaration Nexus declaring agent on WhatsApp. or call +65 6589 8122 · email enquiry@declarationnexus.com |
No TradeNet account? How you still see approval and payment
Ask the declaring agent, and sign up for Trader Notification. Customs says registered TradeNet users check status in TradeNet; everyone else checks with their declaring agent (AskGov). The same applies to a permit cancellation (AskGov).
Trader Notification is free. When a permit with your UEN is approved, cancelled or amended, it notifies you of the permit number, the declaring agent's name and the approval date, plus the total duty and/or GST payable on payment permits. Your Key Personnel signs up in the e-Service called Activate / Update / Terminate Customs Account (Singapore Customs). See also what a custom broker files and the Trader Notification.
If GST was taken by GIRO and you do not know which agent filed the permit, Customs suggests checking your Trader Notification email, which names the declaring agent, asking that agent for a copy of the permit, and, before you submit a query, checking with each declaring agent you gave access to your Inter-Bank GIRO (IBG) account (AskGov).
What to do with the result
The result tells you which route is still open. Once a permit has been used for cargo clearance, amendment or cancellation is generally not allowed. If you find an error and neither is possible, the route Customs gives is a Voluntary Disclosure (Singapore Customs).
An approved permit not yet used for cargo clearance, such as a duplicate, may be cancelled within its validity period. For a GF or G7 payment permit, Customs says to cancel before 23:59:59 on the same day of approval; otherwise, it is a refund application (AskGov).
For more, see how long clearance and permit validity run, correcting or cancelling a permit, clearing the balance on a partly used permit and a rejected TradeNet permit.
Before you call anyone, have these on one page:
the permit number and the UEN you searched with
the PCES result, including "Not Utilised" or not searchable
the Trader Notification email, if you have one
the bank statement line and the payment code
who filed the permit, and whether the goods have moved
Send us the permit number
You do not need an agent to check a permit: PCES and Trader Notification are free. If you file permits yourself, read filing your own permits or using a declaring agent.
Where we come in is the filing. WhatsApp us the permit number and what the check showed. If the permit needs to be filed again, send the invoice and packing list and we'll tell you what we can do for you.
WhatsApp us now on +65 8786 3987, call +65 6589 8122, or see import and export permit filing.
Need a declaring agent in Singapore?
Speak to a Declaration Nexus declaring agent about your next permit or clearance. Call: +65 6589 8122 WhatsApp: +65 8786 3987 Email: enquiry@declarationnexus.com Office: 60 Paya Lebar Road, Unit 07-54 Paya Lebar Square, Singapore 409051 |
Our Customs Permit Services
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Frequently asked questions
Can I check permit status on my phone?
Yes. Customs says PCES works from the browser on a mobile device (Circular 02/2023).
Are hand-carried export permits searchable in PCES?
No. Hand Carried Exports Scheme (HCES) clearance comes as a digital copy through the HCES service on Customs eServices (Circular 02/2023).
What if PCES shows an error?
Phone Customs' Contact Centre on +65 6355 2000 between 8:30am and 5:30pm, Monday to Friday, or use the form at go.gov.sg/customs-doc (Circular 02/2023; Singapore Customs).
Singapore Customs sets these rules and runs these services, and both can change. Check the linked Customs page, or ask Customs.
Related guides
PUBLISHED BY Declaration Nexus Team Declaring agent and customs broker at Paya Lebar Square, Singapore |
Have a customs question? WhatsApp the Declaration Nexus team at +65 8786 3987. |
