Penalties for Late or Non-Payment

GST-registered businesses must pay the GST due within one month after the end of the accounting period covered by the GST return. 

If GST payment is not received by the due date, a 5% penalty and subsequently an additional 2% penalty (not exceeding 50% of the tax outstanding) will be imposed for each completed month that the tax remains unpaid.

GST-registered businesses will be informed of the 5% penalty via a late payment penalty letter. Payment must be made by the due date stated on the late payment penalty letter to avoid further enforcement actions.

A 5% penalty is imposed when:

1. GST F5/F8 Return is filed late. The 5% penalty is imposed on the tax declared in the return.
2. GST F5/F8 Return is filed on time, but payment is not made by the due date. The 5% penalty will be imposed on the tax declared in the return.
3. GST F5/F8 Return is not filed. The 5% penalty will be imposed on the estimated tax in your Notice of Assessment (NOA). The 5% penalty will be subsequently revised  when the actual tax declared is higher or lower than the estimated tax.
4. GST F7 is filed more than 1 year from the original due date of the GST F5/F8, and there is additional tax payable. The 5% penalty will be imposed on the additional tax declared in the F7.

If the deduction through GIRO is unsuccessful due to reasons such as insufficient funds in the bank account, or the deduction amount is higher than the limit set, etc., IRAS will cancel the GIRO plan.

A late payment penalty letter and a GIRO cancellation letter will be issued to inform businesses that the GIRO plan has been cancelled.

Additional penalties of 2% per month may be imposed if the tax remains unpaid 60 days after the imposition of the 5% penalty. The 2% penalty will be imposed for each month that the tax remains unpaid and shall not exceed 50% of the tax overdue.

If the tax continues to remain unpaid, other actions to recover the taxes may include: 

• Appointing agents like your bank, employer, tenant or lawyer to pay the moneys to IRAS;
• Issuing a travel restriction order (TRO) to stop you (applicable to sole proprietors and/or partners) from leaving Singapore; and/or
• Taking legal action.

In addition to the recovery actions, IRAS may concurrently impose an additional 2% penalty on the overdue tax for each month that the tax remains unpaid.

Agents will only be released from the appointment after the tax and penalties have been paid, or when payment has been arranged with IRAS.  

Note:
For banks appointed as agents, requests for release cannot be processed on Saturdays, Sundays and Public Holidays. Any request for release of bank after 2pm on weekdays can only be processed on the next working day.

If a Travel Restriction Order (TRO) is issued on an individual, he will be stopped from leaving Singapore at the Immigration exit checkpoints.

The TRO will be withdrawn upon full payment of the tax due. To do so, the individual is required to produce the proof of payment to the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officer.

Please note that IRAS is unable to withdraw the TRO on weekends and Public Holidays.

Please log in to myTax Portal and select "View Account Summary" to check the current balance.

Please refer to GST payments for the various modes of payment available.

Appeals have to be made online via myTax Portal or using this form Request for Penalty Waiver. Alternatively, please scan the QR code below. The appeal will only be considered if the following conditions are met:

1. You have paid the overdue tax in full; and
2. a. This is your first appeal; or
   b. You have filed and paid on time for the past two years.