Export wine to Singapore: the 2026 guide

The market in numbers

Singapore imported USD 717 million of wine in 2025, 1.9% more than in 2024 but 27% below the 2023 peak. France supplies 76.5% of the value, ahead of Australia (8.7%) and Italy (3.9%); sparkling wine is 52% of the value. Singapore is a trading hub: part of this wine is re-exported, so the figures measure trade through the city, not local consumption alone. Full ranking by country, 2025 data.

Duties and taxes

Customs duty is nil. Excise and GST apply, whatever the origin:

Customs duty: nil on still and sparkling wine (Customs (Duties) Order, First Schedule, heading 22.04).
Excise duty: SGD 88 per litre of pure alcohol, under the same Order: litres x 88 x alcohol strength.
GST: 9% since 1 January 2024, on the CIF value plus the excise (Goods and Services Tax Act 1993, sections 16 and 18).

One 75 cl bottle, CIF SGD 20	12.5% alcohol	14.5% alcohol
Customs duty	0	0
Excise, 0.75 litre x 88 x strength	8.25	9.57
GST, 9% of (CIF + excise)	2.54	2.66
Total taxes	10.79 (54% of CIF)	12.23 (61% of CIF)

Rates in force on 13 November 2026; customs rounding ignored. The excise ignores the price. No free trade agreement changes this.

Who imports, and what each side does

The importer is a Singapore entity with a Unique Entity Number and an activated Customs Account. For wine it also holds the Singapore Food Agency's free Registration to Import Processed Food Products and Food Appliances. Each shipment needs a permit, obtained through TradeNet before arrival: a Customs In-Payment (Duty and GST) permit, or an In-Non-Payment permit when the wine enters a licensed warehouse.

We found no registration of the foreign winery. You supply the commercial invoice, the packing list and a compliant label.

Licensed warehouses: wine can sit in a warehouse licensed by Singapore Customs with excise and GST suspended. Both are paid when it leaves for the local market, and not at all if it is exported. Zero-GST warehouses take non-dutiable goods only, so not wine.

Labels

In English, printed or on a firmly attached sticker: name of the wine, net volume, country of origin, name and address of the Singapore importer, distributor or agent (Food Regulations, regulation 5).
Sulphites of 10 mg/kg or more must be declared. Alcoholic drinks need no ingredient list, and wine needs no date mark.
New since 30 January 2026: a lot or batch number identifying the producing site and lot, and a statement that the country named is the country of origin (Food (Amendment) Regulations 2025).
We found no mandatory health warning, and no rule requiring the alcohol content on grape wine, in the Food Regulations.

Documents and samples

Proof of origin: not needed: no customs duty to reduce.
Samples: wine samples pay excise and GST whatever their value. The SGD 400 relief for trade samples excludes liquor.
Exception: at an event approved under the Singapore Tourism Board's Business Events in Singapore scheme, each exhibitor is exempt up to 2.25 litres per label per day, for sampling only.

How the market works

Every seller needs a liquor licence from the Singapore Police Force, applied for on GoBusiness: Class 4 for wholesale (30 litres or more, or any sale to another licensee), Class 3A for retail to take away, Class 1A or 1B for drinking on the premises, Class 5 for a temporary licence (30 days at most).

Class 3A and Class 4 trading hours run from 7 a.m. to 10.30 p.m. unless extended. In the Liquor Control Zones of Geylang and Little India they end at 7 p.m. on weekends, public holidays and their eves. Drinking in public places is banned from 10.30 p.m. to 7 a.m., longer in those zones. No sale to anyone under 18.

Online sale is allowed with a licence; since 2 January 2024 the seller must warn buyers that buying liquor under 18 is an offence. Delivery to homes may continue after trading hours; delivery to public places may not. Advertising: the self-regulatory Singapore Code of Advertising Practice says alcohol advertisements must not target young people or encourage excess, and anyone shown drinking must be obviously over 18.

Fair: ProWine Singapore, Singapore Expo, announced for 24 to 28 April 2028: check the organiser's site before you book.

Mistakes to avoid

Pricing as if excise followed value: a 75 cl bottle at 12.5% pays SGD 8.25 at any price.
Declaring samples as free: liquor samples pay excise and GST at any value.
Reusing a label made before 2026 without checking the lot number and the origin statement.
Paying excise and GST on wine meant for re-export: use a licensed warehouse.

How we work in Singapore

Singapore is covered from our Shanghai office, whose team makes more than 10 trips a year through Southeast Asia. Meet the Shanghai office.

Sources

Customs (Duties) Order, paragraph 2 and First Schedule, heading 22.04 (current version as at 13 November 2026), Attorney-General's Chambers, Singapore Statutes Online, link (primary)
List of Dutiable Goods (PDF dated 12 February 2026): HS 2204, customs duty nil, excise SGD 88 per litre of alcohol, Singapore Customs, link (primary)
List of Dutiable Goods (page linking the PDF), Singapore Customs, link (primary)
Duties and Dutiable Goods Overview: formula for liquor charged per litre of alcohol, Singapore Customs, link (primary)
Goods and Services Tax Act 1993, sections 16 (rate) and 18 (value of imported goods), Attorney-General's Chambers, Singapore Statutes Online, link (primary)
Goods and Services Tax on imported goods: customs value plus all duties, Singapore Customs, link (primary)
Current GST rates, Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore, link (primary)
Singapore tariff on Australian wine, HS 2204.21.11 (MFN, SAFTA, AANZFTA, CPTPP: 0%), Australian Government, DFAT FTA Portal, link (official, secondary)
Zollbericht Singapur: Zoelle und Einfuhrabgaben, 18 August 2025 (wine: no customs duty, excise SGD 88 per litre of alcohol, GST 9%), Germany Trade & Invest, link (official, secondary)
Singapore Country Commercial Guide: Import Tariffs, 22 August 2025 (GST 9% on CIF plus duties), US International Trade Administration, link (official, secondary)
Customs Registration Overview (UEN, Customs Account, declaring agent, Inter-Bank GIRO), Singapore Customs, link (primary)
Import Procedures Overview (permit before importation), Singapore Customs, link (primary)
Types of Import Permits (In-Payment, In-Non-Payment), Singapore Customs, link (primary)
Businesses that Need Licence / Permit / Registration for Import / Export (updated 27 October 2026), Singapore Food Agency, link (primary)
Application Process & Fees for Licence / Permit / Registration for Import / Export (registration free), Singapore Food Agency, link (primary)
Classification of General Food & Food Products (wine listed as processed food), Singapore Food Agency, link (primary)
Overseas Accreditation of Food & Food Products (meat, poultry, eggs, fish), Singapore Food Agency, link (primary)
Licensed Warehouse Schemes (updated 26 October 2026), Singapore Customs, link (primary)
Depositing Goods in Licensed or Zero-GST Warehouses, Singapore Customs, link (primary)
Food Regulations, regulations 5, 6, 10, 187 and 193 and Second Schedule, as amended by S 92/2025 with effect from 30 January 2026, Attorney-General's Chambers, Singapore Statutes Online, link (primary)
Labelling Requirements for Food: Food (Amendment) Regulations 2025, with effect from 30 January 2026, Singapore Food Agency, link (primary)
A Guide to Food Labelling and Advertisements (amended November 2025), Singapore Food Agency, link (primary)
Importing Trade Samples (updated 18 August 2026), Singapore Customs, link (primary)
Importing by Postal or Courier Service (GST relief excludes intoxicating liquors), Singapore Customs, link (primary)
Approved Wine Event: duty exemption and GST relief for sampling (updated 15 June 2026), Singapore Customs, link (primary)
Liquor Control (Supply and Consumption) Act 2015, sections 2, 4, 6, 12 and 15, Attorney-General's Chambers, Singapore Statutes Online, link (primary)
Liquor Control (Supply and Consumption) (Liquor Licensing) Regulations 2015, regulations 4, 5, 11 and 14 (version of 9 March 2026), Attorney-General's Chambers, Singapore Statutes Online, link (primary)
Liquor Control (Supply and Consumption) (Trading Hours) Order 2015, Attorney-General's Chambers, Singapore Statutes Online, link (primary)
Liquor Control (Supply and Consumption) (Restrictions on Consumption) Regulations 2015, regulation 2, Attorney-General's Chambers, Singapore Statutes Online, link (primary)
Apply for Liquor Licence: online supply, delivery of liquor, Liquor Control Zones, Singapore Police Force, link (primary)
Singapore Code of Advertising Practice, 3rd edition, February 2008, Appendix K (alcoholic drinks), Advertising Standards Authority of Singapore, link (primary)
ProWine Singapore 2028, Messe Duesseldorf Asia, link (primary)

This guide summarises official texts for exporters; it is not legal or tax advice. Rules change: check with your importer or with us before shipping.