Businesses may need to account for GST on free gifts or samples if input tax was claimed and the value exceeds the relevant threshold. For gifts, output tax is required when the total cost to the same recipient for the same occasion is more than $200, excluding GST; no output tax is needed if the value is $200 or less or input tax was not claimed. Special rules apply to vouchers, bundled free items, and samples. Gift vouchers do not require deemed output tax, free items given with purchases are treated as part of the package price, and samples are exempt only if they are not normally sold to the public and are clearly marked “Not for sale” or “Sample only.”
Singapore: GST Rules Clarified for Corporate Gifts, Samples, and Promotional Items
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Singapore
Author: Ljubica Blagojević
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Content accuracy validation date:
16.06.2026
Content accuracy validation time:
08:25h
No output tax is required if the total value of gifts per recipient per occasion is $200 or less, excluding GST, or if input tax was not claimed.
Gift vouchers are treated as a supply of services, so deemed output tax is not required. Where a free item is provided together with a purchase, the goods are treated as a package, and GST is accounted for only on the amount paid by the customer.
For goods bought specifically as gifts from an unrelated supplier, the purchase price may be used as the open market value for GST purposes. Businesses do not need to compare this with retail prices or recommended prices from other suppliers. However, if business assets or goods not originally bought as gifts are later given away, the open market value must be determined at the time of giving, based on identical or similar goods.
Businesses may either bear the GST themselves or recover it from the recipient. If the business pays the GST, it must report the open market value in Box 1 and the output tax in Box 6 of the GST return. If the recipient pays the GST and is GST-registered, the business may issue a tax certificate instead of a tax invoice. The certificate must state “Tax Certificate”, describe the goods and GST amount, and include the statement: “Deemed GST on this supply is paid by the recipient.”
For samples, output tax is generally required unless the samples are given to existing or potential customers, are not in a form normally available for public sale, and are clearly marked “Not for sale” or “Sample only.” If these conditions are not met, the same GST rules as for gifts apply. Free catalogues given to promote sales may be treated as commercial samples, so GST does not need to be charged or accounted for.
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