Two different S$400 tests
The low-value-goods test looks at each item's sales value. Shipping, insurance, GST, and
customs duty are excluded from that item test. It applies to air/post goods supplied by a
GST-registered seller, marketplace, or redeliverer, which normally collects GST at
checkout.
The import-relief test instead looks at the whole shipment's CIF value: goods plus
shipping and insurance. Ordinary goods sent by air or post from a supplier that did not
collect GST can receive import relief when total CIF is S$400 or less. Above that line,
GST applies to the full value, not just the excess.
What the estimate includes
The numeric result applies the current 9% GST rate to goods, shipping, and insurance. For
checkout GST, it assumes those delivery and insurance amounts are billed by the
GST-registered supplier; use the actual tax invoice when it differs. The tool shows the
likely collection stage only when the selected facts support one. Unknown or conflicting
evidence produces a manual-review result rather than a false zero or a duplicate charge.
This is a planning tool for ordinary consumer goods, not a customs classification or
legal-advice service. Exact invoice treatment, exchange rates, special arrangements, and
service-provider fees can change the amount due.
Mixed air/post shipments need item-level facts. If an order total is higher than a single
item above S$400, the calculator cannot know whether the remaining goods are LVG or
non-LVG, so it stops at manual review instead of assigning the whole shipment to one GST
stage.
Foreign-currency orders also need two valuation moments: the purchase-time SGD equivalent
for the per-item LVG test and the import-time customs values for CIF relief. This version
produces a numeric result only when the entered amounts were originally confirmed in SGD.