Singapore import guides
The things people need to understand before their first shipment, and the things experienced importers still get caught by. Written for the awkward, one-off, documentation-heavy jobs rather than routine container traffic.
Getting set up
What is TradeNet
Singapore's single-window system for trade declarations, and the front door to every import permit.
UEN & Customs Account
The registration groundwork that has to exist before a single permit can be filed.
Declaring Agents
Who files your declaration, what they are responsible for, and what stays with you.
Permits & declarations
Import permit types
What the permit message types mean and which situation each one covers.
Controlled goods
Which agency regulates what, and how to find out whether your goods are affected.
Temporary import
Bringing goods in for a fixed purpose and taking them out again, without paying as though they stayed.
ATA Carnet
The international passport for goods that are only visiting — how it works and how it goes wrong.
Dangerous goods
The classes, the paperwork, and the everyday items people do not realise are regulated.
Duty, GST & valuation
GST on imports
What import GST is charged on, how it is calculated, and what changes the timing.
Customs duty
Why most imports are duty-free, and what happens with the four categories that are not.
CIF value
The value your tax is calculated on, and what belongs in it.
Documents & origin
HS codes
How goods get classified, why it matters more than it looks, and who is responsible.
Commercial invoice
What the invoice has to show, and the descriptions that get shipments held.
Documentation checklist
Every document a Singapore import may need, and the point at which each has to exist.
Certificates of origin
What certificates of origin do, the two types, and when you actually need one.
Free trade agreements
The agreement network, and an honest account of what it does and does not do for importers.
Wood packaging (ISPM 15)
The treatment standard for wooden packing, and why it holds so many shipments.
Freight & logistics
Incoterms
What each term means for cost, risk, and your customs value.
Air vs sea freight
How to make the mode decision properly, including the factors that are usually left out.
LCL vs FCL
When sharing a container makes sense, and the costs that do not show up in the LCL rate.
Free Trade Zones
Where duty and GST are suspended, and whether that helps you.
Clearance timeline
The stages between arrival and delivery, and where time is actually lost.
Other sections
Do you need an import permit?
Product-by-product: which goods are controlled, by whom, and what is prohibited.
Shipping by cargo type
Category-by-category handling, permits, and planning for awkward cargo.
Shipping to Singapore by origin
Transit times, ports, and lane-specific problems for each origin country.
Exhibition logistics by venue
Venue-by-venue access, build-up planning, and temporary import options.
Not finding your situation?
Most of what we handle does not fit a category neatly. Start the guided enquiry and describe the shipment in plain terms — working out where it fits is part of the job.