Guides

Every figure is sourced to whoever set the rule — IRAS, Singapore Customs, the Ministry of Law, Royal Malaysian Customs — and dated, because these rules change and a stale page is a wrong page.

• Buying gold in Singapore from Malaysia, after the 10% import dutyThe duty applies to LBMA-certified bars only — and that is exactly the bar Singapore's GST exemption steers you towards.Last checked 23 September 2026
• Can a foreigner buy and store gold in Singapore?Yes, with no residency requirement. The real constraints are the dealer's AML duty, the GST exemption's fine print, and a border rule that is widely misquoted.Last checked 23 September 2026
• Singapore's GST exemption vs a Swiss bonded warehouseBoth are called tax-free storage. One removes the liability; the other defers it for as long as the metal never leaves the warehouse.Last checked 23 September 2026
• What an Indonesian buyer actually pays on goldIndonesia's tax authority says an end consumer buying gold bars pays neither VAT nor Article 22 income tax — which changes why you would vault abroad.Last checked 23 September 2026
• Australia and Singapore use the same bullion thresholds99.5% gold, 99.9% silver, 99% platinum in both — while Indonesia draws the line at 99.99% and Malaysia keys off LBMA certification instead.Last checked 23 September 2026
• The UK exempts investment gold. It has no equivalent for silver.HMRC's exemption is written for gold and only gold — the asymmetry that sends British silver buyers looking at foreign vaults.Last checked 23 September 2026
• Hong Kong has no gold exemption, because it has no tax to exemptA free port reaches the same place by a different route — and Customs states outright the border point Singapore leaves you to infer.Last checked 23 September 2026