GST Filing Process: How to E- File your GST Return in GST F5?

Goods and Services Tax (GST) is a consumption-based tax levied on the import of goods as well as the supply of goods and services.

As a GST registered business entity, you must charge and collect GST on supplies made to the consumers at the prevailing rate (7%) and pay the same to the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS).

The IRAS is the main tax administrator to the government that collects tax accounting for about 70% of the government’s operating revenue.

As per rule 53 of Goods and Services Tax (General) Regulations, every taxable person registered under the GST act is required to file the return electronically, this return is filed in GST F5 at mytax.iras.gov.sg.

In this article, you will learn:

1. What is GST F5 Return?
2. When to File GST F5?
3. Who Can File GST F5?
4. GST Filing Process

What is GST F5 Return?

The GST F5 is a return in which you as a GST registered entity declare:

• the sale of goods and services to customers
• purchases made from the GST registered businesses
• amount of GST collected
• GST to be claimed for the relevant accounting periods

When to File GST F5?

Typically, the standard accounting period to be considered for filing GST F5 is three months. This means, once your GST registration is approved, you need to furnish your returns quarterly unless you have mentioned otherwise in your application form.

These quarterly accounting periods depend on your financial year-end. Also, you can apply for a monthly accounting period in case you receive GST refunds regularly. But remember, your application for the monthly accounting period would be first reviewed and then approved.

The GST F5 return must be submitted to the Comptroller of GST within one month from the end of the accounting period.

Who Can File GST F5?

A business must register for GST when its taxable turnover exceeds S$1 million in the previous financial year. If the taxable turnover does not exceed S$1 million, the business may still choose to voluntarily register for GST.

Furthermore, only authorized persons can file GST returns electronically. As a GST registered business, you can either authorize your employees or any third party to undertake GST related affairs on your behalf. The authorized person can either act as a preparer or an approver.

A preparer can only complete GST returns and save it as a draft. He cannot submit it to IRAS until the approver has reviewed the GST return.

On the other hand, an approver can complete the GST return and save it as a draft or review the return completed by the preparer. After reviewing, the Approver needs to submit the return to IRAS.

GST Filing Process

Step 1: Authorize Users for GST e-Filing

If the person is filing the GST return for the first time or if there is a change in persons filing GST returns on behalf of the business entity, the said person must be authorized for GST e-service under CorpPass (Singapore Corporate Access).

CorpPass is the single corporate identity for businesses allowing them to transact online with government agencies.

In case the GST is filed by a third party, say a tax agent or an employee, he too must be authorized in CorpPass to act on behalf of the GST registered business.

Following is the procedure that various entities need to undertake in order to authorize users in CorpPass:

GST Registered Company/Partnership

There can be three possibilities under this:

(I) If you file GST returns as the director, partner of the company, or partnership firm, then you become the CorpPassAdmin. To do this, you need to undertake the following steps:

• Access corppass.gov.sg/. Click on ‘Register as a CorpPass Admin’.
• You will be redirected to the SingPass page. It must be noted that you can access CorpPass only using your SingPass ID and Password details. SingPass is Singapore Personal Access that permits users to undertake transactions with multiple government agencies online in an easy and safe manner.
• After filling the SingPass details, click the ‘Login’ button to create a CorpPass admin account. This can be done by using the UEN issued by the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) or other UEN issuing agencies.
• After filling UEN, enter a CorpPass ID and password of your choice.
• Then, as a CorpPass Admin, you need to create CorpPass user accounts for those persons who can transact with IRAS on your behalf. Further, you are required to assign GST e-services such as filing and applications along with other IRAS digital services to the CorpPass users.

(II) If you are filing GST Returns as an employee or a third party on behalf of a limited company or partnership firm, you need to undertake the following steps:

• Identify your CorpPass role, that is, whether you are a Registered Officer (RO), CorpPass Admin (CPA), or CorpPass User.

Who is a Registered Officer?

A registered Officer (RO) is a person who is officially registered to the business entity with ACRA or an appropriate UEN issuance agency.

Typically partner, director, or corporate secretary of a company or partnership firm is the RO. Such a person can also choose to become the CorpPass admin.

Who is a CorpPass Admin (CPA)?

In case the RO is not the CorpPass admin, then he must nominate a company employee or a third party to be the admin, known as CPA.

The CPA needs to register for the CorpPass admin account on behalf of the business entity and manage the entity’s CorpPass account.

The RO gives approval to the CPA either online or by Letter of Authorization to manage the CorpPass admin account.

Remember, as a business entity you can have a maximum of two admin accounts.

Who are Users?

After RO nominates the CPA, the CPA then creates sub-admin or user accounts and assigns IRAS e-services to himself as well as the users.

Further, a user can activate his CorpPass account to transact on behalf of the business entity with IRAS.

It is important to note that there is no limit to the CorpPass users per business entity.

(III) In case you are a liquidator filing GST returns on behalf of a liquidated company, then you need to follow the steps mentioned below:

• Firstly, the company under liquidation appoints you as the liquidator to act on its behalf.
• Then you as a Liquidator or the person appointed by you register for a new CorpPass admin account on behalf of the liquidating company.
• The new CorpPass admin so appointed in the above step authorizes the liquidator’s firm or office as a third party.
• Then, the CorpPass admin of the liquidator firm or office will have to create CorpPass users and assign the appropriate e-services to the users.
• The CorpPass users of the liquidator firm or office so appointed will act on behalf of the liquidated company to transact with IRAS.

GST Registered Sole Proprietor, GST Group and Divisional Registrants

If you are a GST registered sole-proprietor, a business under the GST group, or a divisional registrant, then you need to set up a GST CorpPass admin account for your respective GST registration number (GSTN).

Again, only the GST CorpPass admin can authorize employees or third parties to carry out IRAS GST e-services. Furthermore, the GST CorpPass admin is different from the CorpPass account that is set up using your business’s UEN in order to have access to other government e-services.

There are two possibilities under this:

• Sole Proprietors Filing Their Own GST Return
• If you are a sole proprietor and file your own GST returns, then you are the CorpPass admin. As a CorpPass admin, you need to activate your GST CorpPass admin account that is set up by IRAS. You can do this by accessing corppass.gov.sg and then click on ‘Reset Password’ under the ‘Services’ tab.
• After clicking the ‘Reset Password’, you need to enter your GST registration number and CorpPass ID sent to you via email by CorpPass.
• Next, you will be redirected to the SingPass login page where you need to log in using your SingPass ID and Password.
• Then, under the ‘e-service tab’, choose ‘Select Entity’s e-Services’ where you need to select both ‘GST filing and Application’ and ‘GST Payment e-Services’.
• After selecting these services, click ‘Next’ and ‘Submit’.
• Finally, assign selected e-Services to your own CorpPass account. You can also set your role as an ‘Approver’ to submit GST returns to IRAS.
• An Employee or a Third Party Filing GST returns on behalf of the Sole Proprietor

If you are an employee or a third party filing GST returns on behalf of the sole proprietor, then the following process needs to be followed to activate GST CorpPass Admin account:

• Firstly, the sole proprietor or registered officer appoints the CorpPass administrator.
• The CorpPass Administrator then resets the password to activate the ‘GST CorpPass Admin Account’.
• After resetting the password, the CorpPass administrator needs to create GST CorpPass users, select e-Services for the GST entity, and assign selected e-services to the users.
• The CorpPass users then need to activate their CorpPass user accounts to transact with IRAS on behalf of the sole proprietor.
• The CorpPass administrator can also authorize third parties like tax agents and assign them GST services that they can carry out on behalf of the sole proprietor.

Step 2: Log Into myTax Portal

After you are authorized to file GST returns electronically, you need to access to myTax Portal. myTax Portal is a secured and personalized portal for you to view and manage your tax transactions with IRAS.

After accessing myTaxPortal, you need to click on the ‘Business Tax With CorpPass’ tab. On doing so, you will be redirected to the CorpPass page where you need to enter the UEN, your CorpPass ID, and password to login to IRAS. Click ‘Login’ to proceed.

Once you click ‘Login’, you will then need to key in OTP sent to your mobile number registered with the SingPass account.

Step 3: File your GST F5 Electronically

On entering the OTP you will be redirected to your myTax Portal dashboard. Now in order to file a GST return, you need to click on the ‘GST’ tab. From the dropdown, select ‘File GST Return/Edit Past Return’.

On doing so, you will be redirected to the ‘File GST Return’ page. Then, on this page, you need to scroll down and find out the outstanding GST F5 return that you wish to file.

Click on the ‘e-File’ button to start filing the GST F5 return for the relevant accounting period. On doing so, you will be redirected to the requisite ‘File GST F5 Return’ page.

You can start filing your GST F5 return by filling details in boxes 1 – 16. In case, you are unsure of the item in a particular box, you can click on the help button placed next to each of the items.

You need to complete all the boxes in the GST F5 return. After filling all the details, you need to fill in the declarant and contact person information like his name, contact number, and email address in the declaration box given below.

Step 4: Submit Your Return

If you are sure of all the details filled in the GST F5 return, you need to click on the submit button. Otherwise, you can click the ‘Save as Draft’ button.

Once you click on the ‘Submit’ button, a warning will pop up. Click ‘Ok’ to continue.

Step 5: Save Copy of Acknowledgement Page and Make Payment

Once you click on ‘ok’, you would be redirected to the acknowledgment page proclaiming that your return has been submitted successfully to IRAS and is under audit review. This acknowledgment also contains your acknowledgment number. So, save a copy of this page and make payment to IRAS by the due date.

You can use any of the following methods to make the payment on the due date:

• General Interbank Recurring Order (GIRO)
• Electronic payment modes
• PayNow QR
• Internet Banking Bill Payment
• DBS PayLah! Mobile App
• Phone Banking
• ATM
• AXS Station
• AXS Online Platform
• SAM Kiosk
• SAM Online Platform
• NETS
• Internet Banking Fund Transfer
• Telegraphic Transfer