Total Value of Online Sales Transactions in Singapore and GST Revenue Lost

Mr Gan Thiam Poh asked the Minister for Finance what is the total value of online sales transactions for each of the past five years in Singapore and what is the amount of payable GST revenue that is lost in such transactions.

Mr Heng Swee Keat: Currently, there is no ready mechanism to differentiate and track GST that is currently collected versus GST not applicable for online transactions.

As shared in Budget 2017, with increasing digital transactions and cross-border trade, some countries have taken steps to adjust their GST system, to ensure a level-playing field between their local businesses which are GST-registered, and foreign-based ones which are not. We are studying how we can do likewise.