Singapore Car Import Tax: What It Covers and How It Works

The short answer

Singapore has no single car import tax. Bringing a vehicle into the country triggers several separate charges. Some are collected by customs when the car enters the country. Others are collected by the land transport authority when the car is registered for road use. Most of them are calculated from the car's assessed value rather than from what you paid for it. Ownership costs are also shaped by Singapore's vehicle quota system, so the full cost of putting an imported car on the road is usually far higher than a customs duty alone would suggest.

This guide explains each charge and how they differ. It does not quote current rates, thresholds or fee amounts. Those figures could not be confirmed for this article, and Singapore revises them from time to time.

Scope: what changes the answer

The charges that apply depend on your circumstances. Before working out a likely cost, check the following:

Purpose of the import: permanent registration for local use is treated differently from a temporary visit by a foreign-registered vehicle or a car in transit. New or used: used imports must meet additional conditions, including limits on vehicle age, before they can be registered. Vehicle type and powertrain: emissions performance can lead to a surcharge or a rebate, and fully electric cars may be assessed differently from combustion or hybrid models. The vehicle's assessed value: most charges scale with this value, so a higher-priced car attracts proportionally higher tax. Timing: rates, bands and incentive schemes change, and the rules in force at the time of import and registration are the ones that apply.

The main charges and how they differ

Charge | Collected at | What it is based on; Excise duty | Customs clearance | The car's assessed import value; Goods and Services Tax (GST) | Customs clearance | The import value, with duty included; Registration fee | Vehicle registration | A fixed administrative fee; Additional Registration Fee (ARF) | Vehicle registration | The Open Market Value, charged in tiers; Vehicular Emissions Scheme (VES) | Vehicle registration | The car's emissions banding: a surcharge or a rebate; Certificate of Entitlement (COE) | Purchased before registration | The market price set by quota bidding

Open Market Value (OMV)

The OMV is the value Singapore Customs assesses for an imported car. It generally reflects the purchase price plus the cost of shipping, insurance and related charges needed to bring the car to Singapore. It is not the local showroom price. The OMV matters because it is the base for both the import-stage taxes and the Additional Registration Fee.

Import-stage taxes: excise duty and GST

Customs collects excise duty and GST when the car is cleared into the country. These are the charges most people mean when they search for an import tax. On their own, though, they are only part of the total cost of registering a car.

Registration-stage charges: the registration fee, ARF and VES

Registering the car with the land transport authority involves a basic registration fee and the Additional Registration Fee. The ARF is tiered, so higher-value cars pay a higher effective rate. The Vehicular Emissions Scheme then adjusts the cost according to the car's emissions. Cleaner vehicles may receive a rebate, while more polluting ones pay a surcharge.

Certificate of Entitlement (COE)

Strictly speaking, the COE is not a tax. It is a time-limited right to own and register a vehicle, issued under a quota system. Its price is set by open bidding and moves with demand, so it can vary a great deal from one bidding round to the next. For many buyers it is one of the largest single costs of putting a car on Singapore's roads, and it applies to imported cars as well as locally sold ones.

Why imported cars often cost more than expected

The charges stack. Several are calculated as a share of the car's value, and the COE is added on top as a market-driven cost. As a result, the total can be several times the car's original price. If you are thinking of shipping a car you already own, from the United States or elsewhere, check whether it meets Singapore's technical, age and emissions requirements before you commit to shipping costs. A car that cannot be registered locally may still incur import charges or need to be re-exported.

Gaps in this overview

This guide does not give current duty or GST rates, ARF tiers, VES bands, COE prices, used-import age limits, or the rules for temporary imports and exports. None of these could be verified for this article. Confirm them directly with Singapore Customs and the Land Transport Authority, or with a licensed vehicle importer, before you make any decision.