On 27 September 2018, the Ministry of Finance has released a summary of responses to the public consultation on the draft Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill 2018. 70 suggestions were received, of which 47 were accepted and revisions will be made to the draft Bill.
The feedback received pertained to the following changes:
- Introduce GST on imported services by way of Reverse Charge for B2B imported services, and an Overseas Vendor Registration (OVR) regime for B2C imported services
- To simplify the record keeping requirements for overseas suppliers registered under the OVR regime.
- To provide more information on specific tax rules, such as transitional
arrangements for supplies that straddle the implementation date for GST on imported services (1 Jan 2020), and the scope of services subject to reverse charge and OVR.
- Enhance the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS)’s powers to investigate tax crimes
- To provide guidance on the proposed amendments to reduce the likelihood of unwarranted attacks and invasion of privacy against a potentially innocent individual.
- To clarify that the proposed arrest powers do not apply in situations where information requested is subject to legal privilege.
- Counter unauthorised GST collection
- To provide guidance on the circumstances in which the proposed penalties of unauthorised GST collection by GST-registered businesses will apply.
Source: MOF, 29 September 2018