How to Import Goods into Singapore Without a Singapore Company
You sell the goods from overseas, your customer is a Singapore company, and you have no Singapore entity. Can you import goods into Singapore without a Singapore company? The goods can come in. But a local entity with a UEN must be named as importer on the customs permit, and Customs says who that may be: the owner of the goods, or a local agent you have appointed.
Traders put this question to Singapore Customs in almost these words:
"Goods will be imported into Singapore, and the consignee shown on the invoice is a foreign-registered company. Can a Singapore-registered company pay the GST on behalf of the foreign-registered company?" (trader question on AskGov, March 2026)
The answer turns on ownership, and it decides more than whose name sits in a box. To claim the 9% import GST back, a business must be listed as the importer on the permit (IRAS, 2026). If one company pays the GST and the permit names another, the company that paid cannot claim it.
Updated 26 October 2026. Declaration Nexus is a Singapore customs broker and declaring agent. We prepare and file the TradeNet permit. This guide explains the rules and your options, for overseas sellers and their Singapore buyers.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
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In this article |
Key takeaways
A foreign company with no Singapore entity can still sell goods into Singapore. The importer on the permit must be a local entity that owns the goods, or one the overseas seller has appointed as its local agent (Singapore Customs on AskGov, March 2026).
The importer needs a UEN and an activated Customs Account before any import permit can be filed. A miscellaneous UEN is for individuals importing for personal use, so it does not cover a business shipment (Singapore Customs, 2026; AskGov, February 2025).
Import GST of 9% is payable whether or not the importer is GST-registered. Only a business named as importer on that permit can claim it back (IRAS, 2026).
When your Singapore buyer owns the goods at import, IRAS says the buyer should import them in its own name. Its declaring agent then files the permit using the buyer's UEN (IRAS, 2026).
Can a foreign company with no Singapore entity import goods into Singapore?
Its goods can be imported, but the importer on the permit will be a Singapore entity. Every import permit needs an importer with a UEN and an activated Customs Account. Only the Key Personnel of an entity registered with ACRA or another UEN issuance agency can activate one (Singapore Customs, 2026). Customs then sets the test for which local entity may be named:
"In general, a local entity may be declared as the importer or exporter on record on the customs permit when it is the rightful owner of the goods or the local appointed agent by its overseas principal(s) for the importation or exportation of the goods in Singapore." (Singapore Customs on AskGov, March 2026)
So the importer is either an owner of the goods (your buyer, or your own Singapore company) or an agent you have appointed. A company that only lends its name is neither. In a separate answer, Customs says a local entity with no interest in the goods, no part in moving them and no relationship with the actual traders should not be declared as the importer (AskGov, February 2025).
Some service pages put it more bluntly: an overseas company without a local presence cannot be the importer, so it must hire one. The Customs wording is narrower and more useful. The question is not whether you can rent a name, but whether the local name on the permit owns the goods or genuinely acts for you.
Who owns the goods when they land decides the importer
Singapore Customs and IRAS apply the same test from two sides. Customs says:
"The owner of the goods at the time the goods are removed from customs control should be the importer declared in the import permit." (Singapore Customs on AskGov, July 2024)
IRAS says the same in its GST guide on imports: generally, the importer should be whoever owns the goods when they are imported. Only that rightful importer can claim the input tax, and it needs an import permit in its own name to do so (§5.2, IRAS, 2026).
So the first question for an overseas seller is not "who can clear this for me?" It is "whose goods are these when they leave customs control?" The same IRAS guide covers both answers:
If the Singapore customer owns the goods at importation, the customer imports them, declares the permit in its own name and pays the GST (§5.4).
If the overseas seller still owns them, the seller is the one to be declared as importer, and it pays the GST on importation (§5.6).
That is why the ownership line in your sales contract matters more than the price term on your quote. A delivered-duty-paid quote where you keep ownership until delivery points to you as importer. A sale where ownership passes to your buyer before the goods leave customs control points to the buyer. Agree in writing with your buyer when ownership passes, before the goods ship.
Three set-ups: your buyer, your own entity, or a local agent
Once ownership is settled, one of three set-ups follows.
Who owns the goods at import | Importer on the permit | What the importer needs | Who files the permit |
Your Singapore buyer (ownership passed before import) | The buyer | Its own UEN and an activated Customs Account | The buyer, or its declaring agent using the buyer's UEN |
You, through your own Singapore subsidiary, local company or branch | Your Singapore entity | ACRA registration for a UEN, then an activated Customs Account | Your entity, or a declaring agent using its UEN |
You, with no Singapore entity | A local agent you have formally appointed | The agent's own UEN; a section 33(2) agent is treated as the principal for GST | The agent, or a declaring agent using the agent's UEN |
Your Singapore buyer imports
The simplest set-up, if your buyer agrees. The buyer is the importer, pays the import GST and, being listed on the permit, is the party in a position to claim it. You quote a price that stops before import, and your buyer, or its declaring agent, handles the permit under its own UEN.
Your own Singapore entity imports
ACRA lists the routes for a foreign business, including registering a subsidiary or local company, or registering as a foreign company branch. A representative office, by ACRA's own description, "Cannot earn income", so it does not suit an entity that sells the goods (ACRA). For a new entity, Customs gives the order: register with ACRA to obtain a UEN, then activate the Customs Account (AskGov, March 2026).
A local agent you appoint imports
IRAS describes formal agent roles under section 33 of the GST Act:
Section 33(1) agent. An overseas entity that registers for GST must appoint a local agent, known as a Section 33(1) agent, to act for it on all its GST matters (IRAS). The IRAS imports guide says this agent imports the goods under its own UEN (§8.29).
Section 33(2) agent. It imports and supplies goods for an overseas principal that is not GST-registered (or is registered only under the OVR pay-only regime). For GST purposes IRAS treats it as the principal, and it is responsible for all the goods imported (§8.1).
Section 33A agent. For goods imported and then exported with no supply in Singapore, IRAS allows this agent to claim the import GST it paid for the overseas principal.
These are formal appointments that carry tax responsibility for the agent. Take tax advice before choosing this route. One regime sounds relevant and usually is not: overseas vendor registration (OVR) is built for low-value goods sold to consumers, and IRAS says OVR vendors should not charge GST on those supplies to GST-registered customers (IRAS). It is not the route for a business shipment to a GST-registered company.
Do I need a Singapore UEN to clear goods?
The importer does. Singapore Customs sets the order: get a UEN from ACRA or the relevant UEN issuance agency, then activate your Customs Account. "This is required before any import permit application can be submitted" (Singapore Customs).
Activation is done by the entity's Key Personnel, such as an owner, partner or director. Customs charges no fee for it. The outcome comes within four working hours, or within three working days of receiving complete supporting documents when those are needed. Once the account is approved, a declaring agent may use the entity's UEN to apply for permits (Singapore Customs).
A shortcut people ask about is the miscellaneous UEN. One trader asked Customs whether it could import before registering with ACRA. The reply: "The miscellaneous Unique Entity Number (UEN) is meant for individuals importing goods for their personal use only" (AskGov, February 2025).
Payment needs one more account. Either the importer or its declaring agent must hold an Inter-Bank GIRO (IBG) account with Singapore Customs. If the importer has no IBG account of its own, duties and GST are paid from the agent's (Singapore Customs).
Need help with a permit or customs clearance? Talk to a Declaration Nexus declaring agent on WhatsApp for a quick answer. or call +65 6589 8122 · email enquiry@declarationnexus.com |
Can a Singapore declaring agent act as the importer for an overseas company?
Filing a permit and being the importer are two different jobs. Customs puts the first one simply: "A Declaring Agent (DA) can apply for customs permits on your behalf" (Singapore Customs). Who may be the importer is settled by the owner-or-appointed-agent test above, and the role carries weight. Whoever is declared as importer is responsible for making sure the information in the declaration is accurate and that every regulatory requirement is met (AskGov, February 2025).
You will also find this AskGov answer quoted online:
"The local freight forwarder/ declaring agent can act on behalf of a foreign company which are not registered with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA)." (Singapore Customs on AskGov, February 2025)
Read it in its setting: the question was about goods imported and then re-exported to Malaysia, not goods sold to a buyer in Singapore. It is not a general licence for any agent to stand in as importer.
"Importer of record" is a service term, not a Customs category. The Customs test still applies to the name on the permit. A seller on Amazon's forum gave fair warning:
"Be careful with using another company as the importer since what will come with that is some confusion regarding legal responsibility and taxation." (Amazon Seller Forums, 2020)
Our view: settle who owns the goods at import before the shipment leaves, then have a declaring agent file under that importer's UEN. A declaring agent files the permit. It does not become the owner of your goods. See freight forwarder vs declaring agent for how the roles differ.
Want a quote for your declarations? Ask a Declaration Nexus declaring agent on WhatsApp. or call +65 6589 8122 · email enquiry@declarationnexus.com |
Who pays the 9% import GST, and who can claim it back?
The importer pays it, and only the importer can claim it. IRAS is direct: "You must pay GST when you import goods into Singapore, regardless of whether you are GST-registered." The 9% is charged on the CIF value plus all duties, commission and other incidental charges (IRAS). Our guide to how customs value (CIF) is built shows what goes into that base.
To claim the GST back, one IRAS condition is that your business appears as importer on the permit. That answers the trader question at the top of this guide, which Customs met with the owner-or-appointed-agent rule. A Singapore company can be the importer, and pay the GST, when it owns the goods or is your appointed agent. It cannot do so just to help out.
This cost is easy to miss when an "importer of record" is offered as a service. If you keep ownership and a third party is named as importer, the GST sits with that third party, not with you or your buyer. If your buyer owns the goods and imports them, it pays the GST and, as the listed importer, is the one in a position to claim it.
Who files the import permit when I sell to a Singapore company?
The importer files, either itself or through a declaring agent. Where your Singapore customer owns the goods at import, IRAS says it should import them and declare the permit in its own name (§5.4). Its declaring agent can then use the customer's UEN once the customer's Customs Account is active. You supply the commercial documents; the UEN and Customs Account in this set-up are your buyer's.
Our guide on who files an import permit, and in whose name covers the permit mechanics. If your buyer is choosing an agent for the first time, it can use these checks before you choose a declaring agent.
Before the first shipment: a set-up checklist for overseas sellers
Agree in writing with your buyer who owns the goods when they are removed from customs control.
Name the importer from that answer: your buyer, your own Singapore entity, or a local agent you have formally appointed.
Get the importer's company name and UEN, and confirm its Customs Account is activated.
Decide whose IBG pays the duty and GST: the importer's own, or the declaring agent's.
If you keep ownership and have no Singapore entity, choose between registering one with ACRA and appointing a section 33 agent, and take tax advice on which suits you.
Check whether the goods are controlled. Customs advises the importer to check and meet the relevant Competent Authority's conditions before importing (AskGov). Our guide to import licences for controlled goods lists the usual categories.
Send the declaring agent the sales contract or Incoterm, the commercial invoice, and the importer's name and UEN.
Ask Declaration Nexus before you quote
If you are still working out whose name should go on the permit, or which set-up fits your shipment, ask us on WhatsApp. Tell us what the goods are, which country they ship from and who the buyer in Singapore is. A sales contract or Incoterm and a commercial invoice help.
Ask Declaration Nexus on WhatsApp (+65 8786 3987). Declaration Nexus is a Singapore customs broker and declaring agent: we prepare and file the TradeNet permit for the importer named on it. Our import and export permit declarations page explains how we prepare a permit.
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 |
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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 |
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Frequently asked questions
Can a foreign company import goods into Singapore?
Its goods can be imported, but the importer named on the permit is a local entity with a UEN and an activated Customs Account. Customs allows a local entity to be declared as importer when it owns the goods or acts as the agent its overseas principal has appointed. In practice that means your Singapore buyer, your own Singapore entity, or a local agent you have formally appointed.
Can my Singapore buyer pay the import GST for us?
Only as the importer, and only when it owns the goods at import or is your appointed agent. A trader asked Customs this exact question about a foreign-registered consignee, and the reply was the owner-or-appointed-agent rule. If your buyer owns the goods, IRAS says it should import them in its own name and pay the GST. As the listed importer, it also meets the IRAS condition for claiming that GST back.
Is an importer of record service the same as an appointed agent?
Not necessarily. "Importer of record" is a term providers use. Singapore Customs looks at whether the local name on the permit owns the goods or acts as your appointed agent, and says an entity with no interest in the goods, no part in moving them and no relationship with the traders should not be declared as importer. Ask which of the two a provider would be.
About this guide
This guide explains published rules in general terms. It is not tax or legal advice and does not promise any permit, clearance or tax outcome. Procedures change, so check the linked source before you rely on it.
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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. |
PUBLISHED BY Declaration Nexus Team Declaring agent and customs broker at Paya Lebar Square, Singapore |
WRITTEN BY · SEO & GEO BY  SingRank Team Written by the SingRank Team together with the Declaration Nexus team. SEO & GEO by SingRank.com · singrank.agency |
Last updated 26 October 2026. Have a customs question? WhatsApp the Declaration Nexus team at +65 8786 3987. |
