No Duty-free Concession/GST Relief for EP pass holders?

[thefly]

I just read about the duty free and GST relief for travelers on the Customs website. For travelers who spent more than 48 hours abroad the GST relief applies to goods brought into the country if their value is $600 or less.

However, this rule apparently does not apply to certain pass holders. According to the following statement on the site:

Holders of a work permit, employment pass, student pass, dependent pass or long-term pass issued by the Singapore Government and crew members are NOT eligible for GST relief.

Is this new, has it always been like that?

This means that EP pass holders would need to declare even small/cheap items at the red channel when going through customs in Changi? Let's say I come back from a 4-day trip from Japan and bought a $30 T-Shirt and some cosmetics for $20. I would need to declare this and pay GST?

Can anyone clarify, maybe I"m just reading this wrong.

The source is here:
http://www.customs.gov.sg/leftNav/trav/ ... Relief.htm

[Wd40]

Its always been like that. EP holders do not enjoy the duty free allowance that PRs and Citizens enjoy.

[x9200]

Hmm, you may want to check with the customs directly but what I see on that page in the section that you pointed out makes no sense. It looks to me like this is a mix up of two different things: GST relief for goods bought in Singapore and duty free amount for imported goods.

This is the standards practice I am aware of:
1)If you buy something and have it delivered to Singapore you pay GST when the value exceeds S$400
2) for what you bought in Singapore you can claim the GST back at the border while leaving the country only if you are a visitor (so you can not hold any of the said passes).

It is common that the relief value is lower for by post delivery than while carrying the goods by person. I.e. in EU it is (IIRC) E150 vs E400. Taxation on small items would be just plain stupid so my guess is something is wrong with this web page info.

[FaeLLe]

GST Relief is different from Duty Free allowance.

GSF Relief (subject to max. amount) is available to passengers leaving singapore for 48 hours or more (unless you are coming from Malaysia).

GST is payable if you are arriving entering Singapore (irrespective of pass type).

[x9200]

Very good. Now link it to the quoted page and the practice I mentioned being a reality in Singapore.