Car Removals to Singapore: COE, Taxes and Rules

The tax page repeats the limit in stricter words: “For used cars that are imported, they must not be more than 3 years old at the time of application for registration in Singapore.” For most households that decides the matter. A family car of five or six years cannot be registered, whatever it is worth, unless it qualifies as classic or vintage.

Fuel matters too. “From 1 January 2025, new registrations of diesel and diesel-natural gas cars (including imported used cars) and taxis will no longer be permitted.” So a diesel from Britain is out even if it is young enough.

A car is also left out of the household relief. Singapore Customs lists motor vehicles among the goods that “GST relief does not apply to the import of the following goods by all persons, regardless of residency or relocation status:” See the Singapore customs guide for what the relief does cover. For the rest of the load, see our removals to Singapore from the UK planner.

Three charges follow from that value. Excise duty is “calculated based on 20% of the Open Market Value (OMV) of the car.” GST is “you have to pay Singapore Customs 9% GST that is calculated based on the total cost of importing the vehicle”, and that total “The total cost of importing the vehicle includes the cost of the vehicle, insurance and freight, as well as any duties that have to be paid.” So the GST is charged on a figure that already holds the excise duty.

The Additional Registration Fee, the ARF, is a rising percentage of the same value. For cars registered on COEs from the second bidding exercise of February 2023 onwards, the LTA table takes 100% of the first S$20,000, 140% of the next S$20,000, 190% of the next S$20,000, 250% of the next S$20,000 and 320% above S$80,000. (The page writes amounts with a dollar sign; we take them to be Singapore dollars.) An older table applies to earlier registrations.

Our arithmetic on that table: a car with an OMV of S$30,000 pays S$20,000 on the first band and S$14,000 on the next S$10,000, so S$34,000 ARF, plus S$6,000 excise duty. That is before GST, the Certificate of Entitlement, the registration fee of S$350 and the used-car surcharge of S$10,000 that the tax page also lists. The LTA's own worked example shows how freight enters the value: a car costing S$100,000 with S$1,000 of freight, handling and insurance has an OMV of S$101,000 and pays S$20,200 excise duty.

The rules for the auction are fixed. “COEs are released through open bidding exercises conducted twice a month.” The LTA says “The bidding exercises usually start at 12 pm on the first and third Monday of the month, and last for 3 working days.” “A successful COE bid gives you the right to own a vehicle that can be used on the road for 10 years.”

The category follows the car: Category A and B are for cars by engine size and power, with electric cars counted on their own power limit, and Category E is open to any vehicle except a motorcycle. Individuals bid at ATMs, because the LTA says bids are submitted at DBS or POSB ATMs, while internet banking is for corporate account holders only. A new arrival may need a Singapore bank account before the bid can be made; the page does not say, so ask the LTA.

The price is set by the bidding, not by the LTA, so no fixed figure is given here. The LTA publishes past results on its site.