Supply of Air/Sea Stores

Air Stores

Air stores refer to goods supplied for consumption or use on board an aircraft by the crew and passengers outside Singapore. This does not include jet fuel. Examples of air stores include food, water, cleaning supplies, medical supplies, safety supplies and spare parts.

Customs Permit Requirements for Air Stores and Jet Fuel

The supply of air stores and jet fuel for consumption or use on board an aircraft does not require a Customs permit. However, a submission of “Monthly Statement for Stores and Jet Fuel Supplied to Aircraft” is required.

Submission of Statement for Air Stores and Jet Fuel

Singapore Customs records statistics on air stores and jet fuel for consumption on board an aircraft.

The owner or agent of any aircraft leaving Singapore must submit to Singapore Customs, a monthly statement to declare the total value of air stores and the quantity of jet fuel supplied to the aircraft’s fuel tanks. The statement should be sent to the Permits Compliance Branch via email to customs_tnreq@customs.gov.sg, by the 15th day of the following month. If there are no aircraft departures or air stores/jet fuel supplied during the month, a nil submission is still required.

The format of the “Monthly Statement of Stores and Jet Fuel Supplied to Aircraft” can be downloaded from this link.

Sea Stores

Sea stores refer to goods supplied for consumption or use on board a vessel by the crew and passengers outside Singapore waters. Examples include food, water, cleaning supplies, medical supplies, safety supplies and spare parts.

Non-dutiable sea stores can be uplifted onto all vessel types.

Dutiable sea stores can only be uplifted to approved types of vessels (passenger vessels, cargo vessels, oil rigs, dredges, fishing vessels, supply boats and tug boats) and are subject to the following ration allowance restrictions:

Dutiable Good	Ration Allowance per Crew per Day
Cigarettes	40 Sticks
Smoking tobacco (for example, pipe or shag)	15 Grammes
Cigars and Cheroots	3 Sticks
Wine	0.25 Bottle
Spirits	0.25 Bottle
Beer or Stout (local or imported)	4 Cans

Registration as Exporter of Duty and GST-Unpaid Liquor and/or Tobacco Sea Stores

All exporters of duty and GST-unpaid liquor and/or tobacco sea stores are required to be registered with Singapore Customs before an export permit can be obtained via TradeNet. You may register via the “Application for Registration as an Exporter of Duty and GST-Unpaid Liquor and/or Tobacco Sea Stores” form.

Please refer to Circular No. 05/2021 for more information.

Customs Permit Requirements for Sea Stores

Duty-unpaid or Suspended and/or GST-unpaid or Suspended Sea Stores

The uplift of all duty-unpaid or suspended and/or GST-unpaid or suspended sea stores should be accounted by the following customs permits depending on the movement type:

Message Type	Declaration Type	Code
In-Non-Payment	Re-Export: Re-export of sea stores via the same or different Free Trade Zone (FTZ) [not applicable to goods subject to export control by Competent Authorities (CAs)]	REX
Out	Approved Premises / Schemes: Export of dutiable sea stores from a Licensed Warehouse Export of non-dutiable sea stores released from a Zero-GST warehouse	APS
Transhipment/Movement	Inter-gateway Movement: Movement of sea stores from one FTZ or foreign territory to another FTZ or foreign territory for re-export or storage	IGM

In addition, duty-unpaid or suspended and/or GST-unpaid or suspended sea stores that are controlled for export must be supported by proper authorisation (advance notification, licence or certificate approval) from the relevant CAs before they can be uplifted onto the vessels. You are advised to check with the respective CAs on their licensing requirements and to obtain the necessary authorisation before applying for a customs permit.

Please note that ship spares meant for installation onto vessels while the vessels are in Singapore are subject to GST payment and should not be declared as sea stores. You are required to obtain the relevant In-Payment (GST) permits and report your input tax claims directly to the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) during the corresponding accounting period. Alternatively, companies under IRAS Major Exporter Scheme (MES) or Import GST Deferment Scheme (IGDS) may obtain the relevant In-Non-Payment permits to import such ship spares meant for installation onto vessels while the vessels are in Singapore.

Duty and/or GST-Paid or Accounted Sea Stores

The uplift of duty and/or Goods and Services Tax (GST)-paid or accounted (i.e. GST-accounted goods refer to those imported under IRAS’ Major Exporter Scheme or Import Deferment GST Scheme) sea stores does not require any customs permit, if the goods are not controlled for export. The uplift of such goods must be reported in the “Monthly Statement of Stores Supplied to Vessels” to be submitted to the Permits Compliance Branch.

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Duty and/or Goods and Services Tax (GST)-paid or accounted sea stores that are controlled for export require proper authorisation (e.g. advance notification, licence or certificate approval) from the relevant CAs before they can be uplifted onto the vessels. The relevant CAs may also require a Customs export permit [Message / Declaration Type Code = OUT(DRT)] to account for the uplift of such controlled goods.

Before obtaining the above customs permit, suppliers of dutiable sea stores or their appointed Declaring Agents are required to lodge a security

When obtaining the permit, the following information must be declared:

• Customs Procedure Code (CPC)=SEASTORE
• Vessel type
• Net registered tonnage (NRT)
• Number of crew (to be declared in the Processing Code (PC) 1 field)
• Voyage duration (to be declared in the Processing Code (PC) 2 field)
• Next port of call
• Final port of call

Permit applications containing sea stores must not be combined with other non-sea stores items.

You are reminded to comply with the following permit condition when uplifting sea stores:

A4	The following acknowledgement must be obtained from the Master/ Captain of Vessel, Malayan Railway (KTM), Storekeeper: – I certify that I have to-day received……. packages/containers of goods as declared ………………………………………………………. Vessel’s Name/ Godown No. Designation & Signature …………………………………………………………… Date Time Full Name in Block Letters

Delivery and Consumption of Sea Stores

Sea stores shall not be delivered earlier than 24 hours before the vessel’s departure. Once delivered, the sea stores must be locked in a store and shall not be removed until the vessel is outside Singapore port limits.

All goods (dutiable and non-dutiable) that are uplifted as sea stores are not to be consumed while the vessel is still within Singapore port limits. Suppliers shall be liable to pay the duty and taxes for any uplifted sea stores that are unaccounted for.

Rejected/Undelivered Sea Stores

You may re-import rejected or undelivered sea stores from a Free Trade Zone or authorised pier or place into a Licensed Warehouse/Zero-GST Warehouse as shut-out goods.

Please refer to the information on the re-importing of shut-out goods and procedures for dutiable sea stores.

Submission of Statement for Sea Stores

Singapore Customs records statistics on sea stores for consumption on board vessels.

The owner or agent of any vessel leaving Singapore must submit to Singapore Customs, a monthly statement to declare the total value of sea stores supplied to the vessel. The statement should be sent to the Permits Compliance Branch, Statistics Compliance Unit via email at customs_tnreq@customs.gov.sg, by the 15th day of the following month. If there are no vessel departures or sea stores supplied during the month, a nil submission is still required.

The format of the “Monthly Statement of Stores Supplied to Vessels” can be downloaded from this link.