Singapore legislation
Clause 19
Clause 19
Credit for input tax against output tax
(1)
A taxable person shall, in respect of supplies made by him, account for and pay tax by reference to such accounting periods as the Minister may by regulations prescribe (referred to in this Act as a prescribed accounting period) at such time and in such manner as may be determined by the regulations and such regulations may make different provisions for different circumstances.
(2)
Subject to this section, a taxable person is entitled at the end of each such period to credit for so much of his input tax as is allowable under section 20, and then to deduct that amount from any output tax that is due from him.
(3)
Subject to subsection (4), “input tax”, in relation to a taxable person, means the following tax, that is to say:
tax on the supply to him of any goods or services; and
tax paid or payable by him on the importation of any goods,being (in either case) goods or services used or to be used for the purpose of any business carried on or to be carried on by him; and “output tax” means tax on supplies which he makes.
(4)
Where goods or services supplied to a taxable person, or goods imported by him, are used or to be used partly for the purposes of a business carried on or to be carried on by him and partly for other purposes, tax on supplies and importations shall be apportioned so that only so much as is referable to his business purposes is counted as his input tax.
(5)
Subject to subsections (6) and (7), if either no output tax is due at the end of the period, or the amount of the credit exceeds that of the tax, then, the amount of the credit or, as the case may be, the amount of the excess shall be paid to the taxable person by the Comptroller.
(6)
The whole or any part of the credit may, subject to and in accordance with regulations, be held over to be credited in and for a subsequent period; and the regulations may allow for it to be so held over either on the taxable person’s own application or in accordance with general or special directions given by the Comptroller from time to time.
(7)
Where at the end of any period an amount is due under subsection (5) to a taxable person who has failed to submit returns, to comply with any reasonable request by the Comptroller for information or to pay tax or penalty for any period as required by this Act, the Comptroller may withhold payment of that amount until that person has submitted the returns, complied with the request or paid the tax or penalty, as the case may be; and the Comptroller may deduct from the amount due any tax or penalty which the taxable person is liable to pay and which remains unpaid.
(8)
No deduction shall be made under subsection (2) nor shall any payment be made under subsection (5), except on a claim made in such manner and within such time as may be prescribed by regulations; and, in the case of a person who has made no taxable supplies in the period concerned or any previous period, payment under subsection (5) shall be made subject to such conditions (if any) imposed by the Comptroller as he thinks fit, including conditions as to repayment in specified circumstances.
(9)
Subject to subsection (8), any payment due under subsection (5) shall be paid within such time as may be prescribed by regulations and if the Comptroller fails to make payment within the prescribed time, interest on such amount as is outstanding shall, subject to such conditions as may be prescribed, be paid to the taxable person at such rate as may be prescribed and calculated in accordance with the regulations.
(10)
Where a taxable person fails to pay any amount of input tax on the supply to him of any goods or services where relief for bad debt or insolvency has been granted in respect of such payment to the supplier by virtue of any regulations made under section 25(1) and such amount of input tax has been credited under subsection (2) or paid to him by the Comptroller under subsection (5), the amount which he has failed to pay shall be deemed forthwith to be output tax on supplies which he makes and he shall accordingly be liable to account for it.
(11)
The Minister may by regulations provide —
for tax on the supply of goods or services to a taxable person, or paid or payable by him on the importation of goods, to be treated as his input tax only if and to the extent that the charge to tax is evidenced and quantified by reference to such documents as may be specified in the regulations or as the Comptroller may direct either generally or in particular cases or classes of cases;
for a taxable person to count as his input tax, in such circumstances, to such extent and subject to such conditions as may be prescribed, tax on the supply to him of goods or services or paid by him on the importation of goods notwithstanding that he was not a taxable person at the time of the supply or payment;
for a taxable person that is a body corporate to count as its input tax, in such circumstances, to such extent and subject to such conditions as may be prescribed, tax on the supply or importation of goods acquired for it before its incorporation or on the supply of services before that time for its benefit or in connection with its incorporation;
in the case of a person who has been, but is no longer, a taxable person, for him to be paid by the Comptroller the amount of any tax on a supply of services made to him for the purposes of the business carried on by him when he was a taxable person.
(12)
The Minister may by regulations provide, in relation to such supplies and importations as the regulations may specify, that tax charged on them or any part thereof is to be excluded from any credit under this section; and —
any such provision may be framed by reference to the description of goods or services supplied or goods imported, the person by whom they are supplied or imported or to whom they are supplied, the purposes for which they are supplied or imported, or any circumstances whatsoever; and
such regulations may contain provision for consequential relief from output tax.