Reverse-charge and Overseas Vendor Registration (OVR) — Complete 2026 guide

Reverse-charge and Overseas Vendor Registration are the two mechanisms Singapore uses to collect GST on services and goods bought from overseas. Reverse charge makes the local business account for GST on imported services, while OVR makes overseas suppliers and electronic marketplaces register and charge GST on sales to Singapore consumers. GST is charged at 9% from 1 January 2024.

What reverse charge is

Reverse charge shifts the responsibility for accounting for GST from the overseas supplier to the Singapore recipient. Without it, imported services would escape GST because the foreign supplier is outside Singapore’s tax net. Under the rules, a GST-registered business that is not entitled to full input-tax credit — and certain non-GST-registered businesses that exceed thresholds — must account for output GST on the imported services it buys, and may claim a corresponding input credit subject to the normal rules.

What Overseas Vendor Registration (OVR) is

OVR is the business-to-consumer counterpart. It requires overseas suppliers and electronic marketplace operators to register for GST in Singapore and charge GST on digital and non-digital services, and on low-value goods, supplied to non-GST-registered customers. The regime began on 1 January 2020 for imported digital services and was extended from 1 January 2023 to non-digital services and to low-value goods (imported goods valued up to S$400).

Who must apply reverse-charge and Overseas Vendor Registration rules

Reverse charge typically affects partially-exempt businesses — banks, insurers, fund managers, residential-property players and holding companies — that cannot recover all their input tax. OVR affects overseas vendors and marketplaces. An overseas supplier must register under OVR if it has global annual turnover exceeding S$1 million and makes B2C supplies of digital services, or relevant non-digital services and low-value goods, to Singapore customers exceeding S$100,000 in a year. For tax treatment of Singapore holding and investment structures that often sit on the reverse-charge side, our colleagues at Raffles Corporate Services explain Singapore Investment Holding Company: Tax Treatment, Concessions and Compliance (2026).

GST rate, registration thresholds and timelines

The prevailing GST rate is 9% (raised from 8% on 1 January 2024). The compulsory GST-registration threshold for local businesses is S$1 million of taxable turnover in a calendar year. OVR registration thresholds are S$1 million global turnover and S$100,000 of relevant Singapore B2C supplies. Once liable, registration applications should be filed promptly, and IRAS expects registration to take effect from the start of the period in which the threshold is crossed. Singapore’s GST treatment follows the Goods and Services Tax Act 1993, and accounting presentation should respect financial reporting standards administered by ACRA. Our on-site guide on Named Auditors Under CALA 2025: What Singapore Companies and Their Boards Need to Know sets out the filing cycle.

How to comply in practice

Map your imported-services spend (software subscriptions, group management charges, professional fees, marketing) and identify which entities cannot fully recover input tax — those entities reverse-charge. For OVR, overseas sellers should configure invoicing to apply 9% GST at checkout and remit quarterly. Keep tax invoices and import documentation for at least five years.

Numbers to remember

GST rate: 9% (from 1 January 2024). Local registration threshold: S$1 million. OVR thresholds: S$1 million global turnover and S$100,000 Singapore B2C supplies. Low-value-goods ceiling: S$400. Reverse charge in force since 1 January 2020.

Common mistakes

The classic errors are: a partially-exempt business failing to reverse-charge its imported management fees; treating all imported services as outside GST; double-counting GST when a vendor is already OVR-registered (you should not reverse-charge a B2C supply that has already had OVR GST applied); and missing the S$400 low-value-goods rules. Businesses hiring overseas staff who travel frequently should also review the Singapore’s Tightening Job Market in 2026: What Foreign Professionals Need to Know.

Mapping your exposure: a step-by-step method

To work out your reverse-charge position, list every supplier invoice that originates outside Singapore and strip out goods (which are dealt with at import) to leave imported services — software-as-a-service, intra-group management charges, overseas professional and consultancy fees, licensing and marketing services. Next, identify which of your entities are unable to claim full input tax, because those are the ones that must self-account for output GST under reverse charge. For a partially-exempt group, this is often the holding company and any regulated financial entities. Document the annual value, apply 9% on the relevant supplies, and record both the output and any allowable input in the same return.

OVR from the seller’s perspective

An overseas vendor crossing the OVR thresholds must register, configure its checkout to apply 9% GST to Singapore consumers, issue compliant documentation, and file GST returns — usually quarterly. Marketplaces can be treated as the supplier for GST purposes, shifting the registration burden to the platform. Sellers should distinguish business customers (who may provide a GST registration number and be outside OVR) from consumers, because charging OVR GST to a business that should self-account under reverse charge creates double taxation that is awkward to unwind.

FAQs

What is the difference between reverse charge and OVR?
Reverse charge applies to business-to-business imported services and shifts GST accounting to the Singapore recipient. OVR applies to business-to-consumer supplies and makes the overseas vendor or marketplace register and charge GST.

What is the current GST rate?
9%, with effect from 1 January 2024 (previously 8%).

When must an overseas vendor register under OVR?
When its global annual turnover exceeds S$1 million and its B2C supplies of relevant services or low-value goods to Singapore customers exceed S$100,000 in a year.

Do fully taxable businesses need to reverse-charge?
Reverse charge mainly affects businesses that cannot claim full input-tax credit, such as partially-exempt financial institutions and holding companies. Fully taxable businesses are generally less affected.

What is a low-value good for OVR?
An imported good valued at up to S$400, which became subject to GST under OVR from 1 January 2023.

Need help with this? Call, SMS or WhatsApp +65 8501 7133, or email [email protected]. Raffles Corporate Services works with a panel of corporate and employment law firms; this article is general information, not legal advice.