Singapore — agent-bev Library

Market status

Licensed. Singapore permits private import, wholesale and distribution, but operators must use the customs, food-import and liquor-licensing channels that fit the activity. Commercial food importers register with the Singapore Food Agency (SFA), customs declarations use a Unique Entity Number (UEN) and TradeNet permit route, and supply of liquor normally requires a liquor licence. Wholesale liquor is a defined Class 4 liquor-licence activity.

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Who can trade

Import: A Singapore importer must have a UEN, activate its Customs Account and obtain the relevant customs import permit through TradeNet. Commercial food importers must be licensed or registered with SFA; processed food import is a registration category, and every consignment requires the applicable import permit. Imported dutiable liquor for local circulation is declared and duty and Goods and Services Tax (GST) are accounted for through Customs.

Wholesale and distribution: Supplying liquor requires a liquor licence unless an exemption applies. A Class 4 liquor licence covers wholesale supply of liquor for consumption away from the licensed premises. Wholesale supply means supply to a licensee of any quantity, or supply to any person of 30 litres or more. Licensed premises may need written support or approval from the relevant land authority when required by the Licensing Officer.

Duty-suspended storage and manufacture: Imported dutiable liquor can be stored in a Customs licensed warehouse with duty and GST suspended until removal for local use or consumption. Manufacturing, bottling, blending, compounding or varying intoxicating liquors falls within the Excise Factory Scheme where the premises and movement controls are approved by Singapore Customs.

Business-to-business (B2B) online sale: The online channel does not remove the liquor-licensing requirement. An electronic commerce platform that enables online purchase, payment and automatic delivery-address confirmation requires a liquor licence if it supplies liquor. Class 3A, 3B and 4 licence holders, including online liquor businesses, have special delivery treatment for non-public places and other licensed premises, but supply must remain within the licence class and statutory conditions.

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Customs and duty

Tariff headings: Beer: 2203. Beer made from malt. Wine: 2204. Wine of fresh grapes, including fortified wine, and grape must other than heading 2009. Cider: 2206. Other fermented beverages, including cider and perry, and qualifying mixtures. Spirits: 2208. Undenatured ethyl alcohol below 80% alcohol by volume; spirits, liqueurs and other spirituous beverages.

Import duty framework: Singapore uses eight-digit Harmonised System (HS) codes under the Association of South East Asian Nations Harmonised Tariff Nomenclature (AHTN). Singapore Customs states that Singapore’s current tariff schedule is published in the Singapore Trade Classification, Customs and Excise Duties (STCCED), while the Customs (Duties) Order sets customs and excise duty rates and preferential treatment. The full eight-digit code, origin, preference claim and customs status determine treatment; a four-digit heading alone is not enough.

Excise and customs duty structure: Intoxicating liquors are a dutiable-goods category. Customs duty is duty on imported goods, and excise duty is duty on goods manufactured in, or imported into, Singapore. Liquor duties may be calculated per litre of alcohol using total quantity, the applicable customs and/or excise duty rate and alcoholic strength. Some alcoholic composite concentrates are calculated on dutiable content by weight or volume. Locally manufactured liquor excise is calculated by litres, excise rate per litre of alcohol and alcoholic strength.

Territorial treatment: Duty and GST are suspended while goods remain in a Free Trade Zone (FTZ) or Customs licensed warehouse. Dutiable liquor and tobacco may generally remain in an FTZ only for the specified short storage period pending transhipment or removal to licensed premises. Release for local circulation makes duty and GST payable. Transhipment of goods through Singapore is not subject to duty or GST, but the required permits and controls still apply.

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Labelling

Required language(s): Mandatory particulars for prepacked food must be in English. Imported prepacked food labels can use firmly attached sticker labels to add the required English information, provided they do not cover other essential information.

Mandatory warnings: Ingredient-dependent warnings apply, including the prescribed phenylalanine warning where aspartame is present. Liquor for which medicinal properties are claimed must not be advertised, labelled or sold as food. General mandatory alcohol-health or pregnancy warning: Not yet sourced.

Alcohol strength: Intoxicating liquor is liquor above 0.5% alcohol by volume at 20°C. Singapore’s food rules set compositional standards using alcoholic strength for several alcohol categories. Every container or receptacle containing cereal grain wine or Chinese wine must bear a label indicating alcohol content. General physical-label alcohol by volume declaration across all beer, wine, cider and spirits: Not yet sourced.

Allergen lines: Intoxicating liquors are not required to carry an ingredient statement. Hypersensitivity declarations remain relevant, including cereals containing gluten, crustacea, eggs, fish, peanuts, soybeans, milk, tree nuts and sulphites at 10 milligrams per kilogram or more.

Origin lines: Imported prepacked food must show the name and address of the Singapore importer, distributor or agent and the country of origin. From 30 January 2026, the country-of-origin declaration must be accompanied by wording that makes clear that the named country is the country of origin.

Wine particulars: Wine is defined as fermented grape juice or must, with or without grape-spirit fortification. A wine common name may include grape type or locality. Fruit wine must carry the fruit name immediately before the word wine. Cereal grain wine and Chinese wine must use the cereal name or Chinese product name immediately before wine. The word champagne is restricted for carbonated wine and must not be used for cider or perry.

Label registration: Label registration or pre-market label approval for alcoholic drinks: Not yet sourced.

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Age and sale limits

Legal purchase age: 18. A licensee and its employee must not supply liquor to an individual younger than 18, including online or through a telecommunication service. An individual younger than 18 must not buy or attempt to buy liquor.

Sale-hour and channel limits: Class 3A retail, Class 3B beer-only retail and Class 4 wholesale licences generally operate from 07:00 to 22:30. Class 1A and 2A on-premise licences generally run from 06:00 to 23:59, while Class 1B runs from 06:00 to 22:00 and Class 2B follows the trading hours stated on the licence. Class 5 is temporary. Class 3A, 3B and 4 licence holders, including online liquor businesses, may deliver beyond licence trading hours to non-public places; delivery to public places is within retail or wholesale trading hours.

Regional layers: Singapore has Liquor Control Zones in the Geylang and Little India areas. For licensed premises holding Class 3A, 3B or 4 licences in those zones, trading hours are 07:00 to 22:30 on weekdays and 07:00 to 19:00 on Saturdays, Sundays, public holidays and eves of public holidays. Individual licence conditions and land-authority approvals can further affect premises operations.

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Protected names

Protection framework: Singapore protects Geographical Indications (GIs) through registration administered by the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS). A registrable GI must identify goods from a qualifying country or a region or locality in it, where a quality, reputation or other characteristic is essentially attributable to that place. The registrable goods categories include wines, spirits and beers. Registration gives protection for 10 years and can be renewed.

Scope of protection: Once a GI is registered in Singapore, GI labels cannot be used on goods that do not come from the place indicated by the GI, even if consumers are not misled about the true origin. The register and the Geographical Indications Journal should be checked for the current status and any qualification of rights.

Verified examples: IPOS cites Champagne as a wine GI and Tequila as a spirit GI. Current registered beer geographical indication example and complete current registered wine, spirit and beer entries: Not yet sourced.

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GTIN authority

Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) member organisation: GS1 Singapore. It states that it has the sole mandate to administer the GS1 system in Singapore and provides GS1 Company Prefixes and GS1 GTINs or barcode numbers.

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Not yet sourced

General mandatory alcohol-health or pregnancy warning; general physical-label alcohol-by-volume declaration across all beer, wine, cider and spirits; label registration or pre-market label approval for alcoholic drinks; current registered beer geographical indication example and complete current registered wine, spirit and beer GI entries: Not yet sourced.