Build a Singapore GST register for reverse-charge purchases

A Singapore purchase register for reverse charge needs the business's input-tax recovery position as well as its overseas supplier list. IRAS applies the regime to relevant GST-registered businesses belonging in Singapore that are not entitled to full input tax claims. Have the tax reviewer document that scope before finance applies a reverse-charge code across purchases.

The regime covers imported services and, since January 2023, relevant low-value goods, subject to exclusions. The goods review cannot be limited to suppliers with foreign addresses: IRAS guidance also addresses purchases through local suppliers, marketplaces and redeliverers. Classify the actual supply and purchasing arrangement.

For each candidate, retain the contract or order, invoice, purchasing entity, supplier identity and description of what was received. Separate services from goods and record the facts needed to assess any exclusion. A generic subscription or online purchase description may conceal different supplies with different treatment.

Show how the purchase supports taxable, exempt or non-business activities. Ask the department using it for evidence where the allocation is unclear. The same vendor can supply one service used entirely for a taxable activity and another shared across the organization, so a single vendor-level percentage may be unsuitable.

If an overseas vendor charged GST because it did not receive the business's registration details, flag the invoice for correction. IRAS directs affected registered businesses to seek a refund of incorrectly charged GST from the vendor instead of claiming it as input tax. Preserve the refund request and the review of any applicable reverse charge.

IRAS generally treats a reverse-charge transaction as occurring at the earlier of invoice issuance or payment. Capture both dates, including payments made before an invoice reaches accounts payable. The month in which an expense is recognized in management reporting may not identify the GST reporting period.

As an illustrative timing case, an overseas supplier is paid in March but issues its invoice in April. Under the general earlier-event rule, the payment points to March's GST period. Finance should retain the remittance and later invoice as two records of one purchase, rather than recording two separate reverse-charge items.

Calculate the reviewed output tax and record the separately assessed recoverable input tax. IRAS permits the input claim subject to normal recovery rules. A partially exempt business should therefore not assume that the two sides cancel. Keep the basis for any restricted amount beside the calculation.

Reconcile the approved register to the relevant GST return fields and tax-ledger entries. Track credits, cancellations and vendor refunds against the original purchase so a later commercial adjustment is assessed once. Preserve the exchange-rate support for foreign-currency items used in the return preparation.

At the next review, inspect new overseas vendors, new purchasing channels and changes in the business's activities. Carry unresolved scope or allocation questions forward with an owner and the precise missing fact. The register should explain both why a purchase entered reverse charge and how much of the resulting tax was recoverable.