Global Trader Programme (GTP) — concessionary tax — Step-by-step walkthrough
The Global Trader Programme is a Singapore incentive that taxes qualifying income from international trading at a concessionary rate rather than the 17% headline rate. Administered by Enterprise Singapore, it rewards traders who anchor substantive physical-trading and procurement functions here. This walkthrough explains who the global trader programme is for, the substance thresholds, the concessionary rates and the application sequence in 2026.
Raffles Corporate Services works with a panel of corporate and employment law firms; this article is general information, not legal advice.
What the Global Trader Programme is
The Global Trader Programme (GTP) is an administrative incentive granted by Enterprise Singapore. Qualifying income from approved international trading activities — physical trading, brokering and structured commodity finance across a defined list of products — is taxed at a concessionary rate instead of the standard corporate rate set under the Income Tax Act 1947. The incentive recognises that commodity and merchandise traders are mobile and could base their trading desks anywhere; Singapore offers the rate to attract the desk, the people and the supporting ecosystem of finance, logistics and risk management.
Who the programme is for
GTP suits established trading houses and the trading arms of larger groups that transact substantial volumes of qualifying commodities or products with overseas counterparties, and that are prepared to run the trading function — traders, risk, operations, treasury — physically out of Singapore. It is not aimed at small domestic distributors or at companies whose trades are merely booked in Singapore while the real activity sits elsewhere. Enterprise Singapore awards GTP to applicants who can demonstrate genuine commercial scale and a credible plan to grow trading turnover, headcount and local business spending.
Eligibility and the commitments expected
Like other Singapore incentives, GTP is negotiated rather than filed against a fixed checklist. In practice Enterprise Singapore expects an applicant to commit to: a substantial annual trading turnover; local business spending (the operating costs incurred in Singapore, including salaries) typically in the millions of Singapore dollars; and a team of experienced trading professionals based here. The applicant must trade in qualifying products with qualifying counterparties, and income must be derived from those qualifying transactions. The company should be properly constituted — under Section 157A(1) of the Companies Act 1967 the business is managed by its directors, so Enterprise Singapore expects the trading decisions to be taken by people genuinely operating from Singapore.
The concessionary rates
GTP grants a concessionary tax rate on qualifying trading income — historically 5% or 10% depending on the commitments — against the 17% headline rate. The lower 5% tier is reserved for applicants meeting the more demanding scale and substance commitments. The rate applies only to qualifying income from approved products and counterparties; non-qualifying income is taxed normally. The award period is typically five years, renewable where the trader deepens its commitments.
Cost and timeline
Incorporating the Singapore trading entity costs roughly S$1,500 to S$3,500 in professional fees plus ACRA charges. There is no government application fee for GTP itself, but expect three to six months of engagement with Enterprise Singapore to agree the commitment package and complete due diligence. Relocating the trading desk adds Employment Pass lead time — around three weeks per pass once filed with the Ministry of Manpower — and two to four weeks to establish trade-finance banking lines, which are critical for a commodity trader. A realistic end-to-end horizon is six to nine months.
Step-by-step process
First, incorporate the Singapore trading entity with a registered office and a locally resident director. Second, build the business case: qualifying products, expected turnover, counterparties, headcount and local spending commitments, and a growth trajectory. Third, engage Enterprise Singapore and submit the proposal. Fourth, negotiate the commitment package and concessionary tier. Fifth, on award, relocate or hire the trading team — foreign traders will need work passes, and the Training Employment Pass and Work Holiday Programme walkthrough is useful where you are bringing in trainees or short-term secondees alongside permanent hires. Sixth, set up trade-finance banking and operate to the milestones, filing annual returns with IRAS and claiming the concessionary rate on qualifying income.
Common mistakes and gotchas
The classic mistake is “booking-only” trading — routing contracts through Singapore while traders and risk managers sit overseas. Enterprise Singapore and IRAS expect substance, and weak substance jeopardises the award. The second is misclassifying products or counterparties as qualifying when they are not, which leads to income being taxed at the full rate. The third is underestimating trade-finance banking lead time, which can stall the desk. The fourth is neglecting transfer-pricing documentation for intra-group trades. Finally, ensure corporate governance is in order before the award — resolutions, registers and directorships must be correct, as set out in our partner guide to ordinary versus special resolutions in Singapore companies.
Related guides
For worked rate scenarios and the qualifying-product detail, see our companion Global Trader Programme — concessionary tax complete 2026 guide. Verify the framework with the regulators: Enterprise Singapore administers GTP, the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore governs the tax treatment, Singapore Customs oversees the import, export and transhipment rules that physical traders must observe, and the Singapore Economic Development Board supports the wider trading and investment ecosystem.
Worked example — a metals trader relocating its desk
Consider a metals trading house that currently books its Asian non-ferrous trades through an offshore entity but runs the desk from a high-cost location. It decides to relocate the desk to Singapore: four senior traders, two risk analysts and an operations team, with projected qualifying turnover in the hundreds of millions of US dollars and annual local business spending of around S$4 million. On these commitments, Enterprise Singapore might grant the 10% concessionary tier initially, with a path to the 5% tier as turnover and headcount grow. If the desk generates S$8 million of qualifying trading income, the move from 17% to 10% saves roughly S$560,000 of tax annually, and the 5% tier would deepen that further. The house incorporates the Singapore entity, secures trade-finance banking lines (two to four weeks), files Employment Passes for the relocating traders (about three weeks each), and signs the GTP letter tying the rate to its turnover and spending commitments. The saving is real but contingent: under-delivering on the committed turnover puts the concessionary rate at risk.
How GTP fits the wider trade framework
GTP sits alongside Singapore’s customs regime, its goods and services tax treatment of exports, and its double-taxation agreement network. Physical traders also use Free Trade Zones to defer import GST and duty on goods in transit, and the GST treatment of exported goods is generally zero-rated, which complements the income-tax saving. Transfer pricing is again central: where the Singapore desk transacts with affiliated entities, IRAS expects arm’s-length pricing supported by documentation. Substance is the recurring theme — the traders, the risk function and the decision-making must genuinely sit in Singapore, because Enterprise Singapore and IRAS both look through booking-only arrangements. A trader should therefore plan the GTP application, the banking, the customs registration and the transfer-pricing documentation as a single integrated project rather than as separate workstreams handled after the desk has moved.
FAQs
What rate does the Global Trader Programme give? A concessionary rate on qualifying trading income, historically 5% or 10% depending on the scale and substance commitments, against the 17% headline rate.
Which products qualify? A defined list of commodities and products approved by Enterprise Singapore; income must come from qualifying transactions with qualifying counterparties.
Can a start-up trader apply? GTP targets established traders with substantial turnover; smaller traders may be better served by building scale first before applying.
How long does it take? Three to six months of engagement with Enterprise Singapore, and six to nine months end-to-end including incorporation, work passes and trade-finance banking.
Does Singapore tax the non-qualifying income too? Yes — only qualifying income enjoys the concessionary rate; other income is taxed at the normal corporate rate.
Need help with this? Call, SMS or WhatsApp +65 8501 7133, or email [email protected]. Raffles Corporate Services works with a panel of corporate and employment law firms; this article is general information, not legal advice.