Kimberley Process Certification Scheme

What is it?

The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) is an international scheme to stop the trade of “conflict diamonds” and to ensure that diamond purchases do not finance violence by rebel movements and their allies seeking to undermine legitimate governments. Singapore has been a Kimberley Process (KP) participant since 2004.

Find out more about the KPCS and list of KP participants.

Importing and Exporting Rough Diamonds

To import rough diamonds under Harmonized System (HS) codes 7102 1000, 7102 2100 and or 7102 3100:

You must hold a valid KP Licence;
Your shipment must be sealed and secured;
Your shipment must be accompanied with a valid KP Certificate issued by the overseas exporting KP authority; and
You or your agent must produce the shipment, overseas KP Certificate issued by the overseas exporting KP authority, Customs import permit and supporting documents such as commercial invoice, packing list and Airway bill to the checkpoint officers at the time of importation for endorsement.

To export rough diamonds under HS codes 7102 1000, 7102 2100 and or 7102 3100:

You must hold a valid KP Licence;
Your shipment must be sealed and secured;
You must obtain a Singapore KP Certificate issued by Singapore Customs; and
You or your agent must produce the shipment, Singapore KP Certificate, export permit and supporting documents to the checkpoint officers at the time of exportation for endorsement.

Singapore Customs may conduct inspections on your import and export shipments of rough diamonds at our office or at any premises specified. For exports, the Singapore KP Certificate will only be issued when the inspection (if any) of the rough diamonds is found to be in order.

How to Apply for a Kimberley Process Licence?

Under the KPCS, a Kimberley Process (KP) Licence is required for the import and export of rough diamonds.

To apply for a KP Licence, you need to:

Register with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) to obtain a Unique Entity Number (UEN) account;
Activate your Customs account;
Have a valid Inter-Bank GIRO (IBG) account with Singapore Customs for the deduction of the annual licence fee (S$50 per year or part thereof);
Submit an application for KP Licence through FormSG with all the supporting documents required (i.e. Business process flowchart, credentials of staff doing rough diamond processing work, website business profile of applicant etc).

The KP Licence expires on 31 December of the year in which it is issued and needs to be renewed annually thereafter. The renewal is subject to Customs’ review and assessment. Please refer to the KP Licence application form for the terms and conditions.

How to Apply for a Kimberley Process Certificate?

Under the KPCS, a KP Certificate issued by Singapore Customs is required for the export of rough diamonds.

To apply for a KP Certificate, you need to:

Have a valid KP Licence with Singapore Customs; and
Have a valid Inter-Bank GIRO (IBG) account with Singapore Customs for the deduction of a S$5 fee per KP Certificate issued; and
Submit the Application for KP Certificate through FormSG with all supporting documents (i.e. KP Licence, commercial invoice, packing list and Airway Bill etc); and ensure that you adhere to all the terms and conditions for the KP Certificate.

How to Apply for a Customs Permit

Customs permits are required for the importation and exportation of rough diamonds into or from Singapore.

You may:

Appoint a declaring agent to apply for Customs permits on your behalf; or
Apply for Customs permits on your own. To do so, you need to register as a declaring agent and apply for a TradeNet User ID.

All permit applications must be submitted via TradeNet, accessible through:

TradeNet front-end solution from any approved solution provider, or
Government Front-End Application.

If you choose to engage a declaring agent to assist you, you may wish to check with your appointed agent on the charges involved.

You or your appointed declaring agent is required to declare the following details in the permit application:

Description of goods – to declare origin, type, size, carat weight/mass and value of the rough diamonds
KP Licence Number – to declare in the ‘Licence’ field
KP Certificate Number (mandatory) and Seal Number of the parcel (if any) – to declare in the ‘Traders’ Remark’ field