Global Trader Programme (GTP) — concessionary tax — Complete 2026 guide

The Global Trader Programme is a Singapore tax incentive, administered by Enterprise Singapore, that grants approved international trading companies a concessionary corporate tax rate of 5% or 10% on qualifying trading income, instead of the standard 17%. For trading companies setting up Singapore operations in 2026, the global trader programme is the central reason Singapore has become the physical and commercial hub for commodity, energy and consumer-goods trade across Asia.

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

Singapore’s standard corporate tax rate is fixed at 17% by Section 43 of the Income Tax Act 1947. The Global Trader Programme overlays a concessionary rate on income from qualifying physical and derivative trades routed through the Singapore entity. The programme is administered by Enterprise Singapore — the statutory board established under the Enterprise Singapore Board Act 2018 — and the concession is given effect through the income-tax framework. Approved companies receive a fixed incentive period (commonly five years, renewable) during which qualifying trading income is taxed at 5% or 10%.

The programme exists to attract genuine trading substance: traders who buy and sell on their own account, manage price and logistics risk from Singapore, and use the city as their regional trading desk. It is not a paper-routing concession.

Who the programme is for

The GTP suits established traders in commodities (oil and petrochemicals, metals, agricultural products), energy, and increasingly consumer and industrial goods, who run buy/sell decisions and risk management from Singapore. Typical applicants already have a track record of turnover and want to consolidate regional trade flows. New trading companies setting up Singapore operations should first read our partner guide to Singapore incorporation for foreigners to get the underlying entity, resident director and bank account in place before approaching Enterprise Singapore.

Eligibility and substance requirements

Enterprise Singapore evaluates commitment across several dimensions, negotiated rather than published as fixed thresholds. Applicants generally need to demonstrate:

• A substantial annual turnover in qualifying products traded through the Singapore entity.
• Local business spending — payroll, office, professional and logistics costs incurred in Singapore.
• Qualified trading and risk-management headcount based in Singapore, often including front-office traders and middle-office risk staff.
• Use of Singapore as the strategic and operational base for the relevant trades, with decisions made here.

As with all incentives, the directors must genuinely manage the company; Section 157A of the Companies Act 1967 vests management in the board, and a trading desk staffed only by junior administrators will not satisfy the substance expectation.

Concessionary rates and qualifying income

Indicative parameters for 2026 planning:

• Standard corporate rate: 17%.
• GTP concessionary rate: 10% for most new awards, or 5% for larger, more substantive commitments.
• Incentive period: typically five years, renewable on meeting agreed milestones.
• Scope: qualifying income from qualifying transactions in approved products — physical trades, and certain derivative and structured-commodity-finance income tied to those trades.

Income that falls outside the approved scope remains taxable at 17%. Because the boundary between qualifying and non-qualifying income matters so much, clean contracts, trade documentation and transfer-pricing files are essential. Confirm the prevailing rate and qualifying-product list with the GoBusiness portal and the tax treatment with IRAS.

Cost, timeline and the customs dimension

The trading entity itself is an ordinary Singapore private limited company. ACRA incorporation fees total S$315 and registration is usually completed within one to three working days; first-year incorporation and corporate secretarial support typically runs S$1,500–S$3,500. The GTP application and negotiation with Enterprise Singapore usually takes 8–16 weeks.

Traders moving physical goods also interact with Singapore Customs. Most commercial goods are not subject to customs duty in Singapore, but Goods and Services Tax — currently 9% — applies on imports unless the goods are held under a licensed regime or moved through a free trade zone. Companies importing or exporting must activate a customs account and may use schemes such as the Major Exporter Scheme to ease GST cash-flow. See Singapore Customs for registration and our guide to work passes for relocating trading staff for the people side.

Step-by-step: from set-up to GTP award

First, incorporate the Singapore trading company and open a corporate and trade-finance bank account. Second, activate the customs account if you will move physical goods. Third, build the GTP business case — projected qualifying turnover, headcount plan, and the trade flows to be booked in Singapore. Fourth, apply to Enterprise Singapore and negotiate the concessionary rate, qualifying products and period. Fifth, implement the hiring and spending commitments, then file annual returns with ACRA under Section 197 of the Companies Act 1967 and corporate tax returns with IRAS applying the GTP rate only to qualifying income.

Common mistakes and gotchas

The biggest pitfall is booking trades in Singapore without the people and decisions to match — Enterprise Singapore and IRAS both test substance, and a hollow desk risks losing the award. A second is weak transfer pricing on intra-group trades, which can shift income out of the qualifying band or attract adjustment. A third is overlooking GST on imports: even where no customs duty applies, the 9% GST and the relevant suspension schemes must be managed. Finally, companies sometimes underestimate the documentation burden — qualifying-income claims need contemporaneous contracts and trade records.

Related guides

Pair this with our incorporation-for-foreigners guide for the entity set-up, and the Employment Pass guide for relocating traders. Groups also routing manufacturing margins through Singapore should review the global-minimum-tax considerations in our Pillar 2 briefing, since large multinationals may face a top-up tax that interacts with concessionary rates.

Qualifying versus non-qualifying income in practice

The concession bites only on income from approved products and approved transaction types booked through the Singapore entity. Physical trades in the approved commodities, and derivative or structured-finance income hedging or financing those trades, typically qualify. Income from unrelated activities, from products outside the approval, or from trades that are not genuinely managed in Singapore, does not — it is taxed at 17%. The practical discipline is to keep clean books that separate the two streams from day one, supported by contracts and trade tickets. A common restructuring after award is to migrate qualifying trade flows onto the Singapore entity’s paper while leaving non-qualifying activity elsewhere.

GTP and transfer pricing

Because traders in a group buy from and sell to related parties, transfer pricing is central. IRAS expects intra-group transactions to be priced at arm’s length and documented contemporaneously. Where a Singapore trading entity earns a concessionary rate, the temptation to over-allocate profit to Singapore is obvious — and so is the scrutiny. A defensible transfer-pricing file, functional analysis and benchmarking are essential to sustain the qualifying-income claim and to withstand review both in Singapore and in counterparty jurisdictions.

A worked illustration

A metals trader with an existing Geneva desk opens a Singapore entity, relocates two senior traders and a risk manager, and books its Asian physical and hedging flows through Singapore. Annual qualifying turnover runs into the hundreds of millions; local business spending covers payroll, office and broker fees. Enterprise Singapore grants a five-year award at 10%. The trader runs Singapore as a genuine desk — front-office decisions, middle-office risk, back-office settlement — and reserves non-Asian flows for other entities. The concession applies to the Asian qualifying income; the rest is taxed normally.

Renewal, reporting and the customs interface

The award runs for a fixed period and is renewable on meeting commitments. The company reports performance to Enterprise Singapore and files tax returns applying the concessionary rate only to qualifying income. On the physical side, importers must keep customs declarations accurate under the Customs Act 1960; misdeclaration carries penalties independent of the tax position. Traders that move goods physically through Singapore should pair the GTP with the right customs treatment — free trade zone storage or a suspension scheme — to avoid trapping cash in import GST at 9%.

GTP versus trading from elsewhere in Asia

Hong Kong, Dubai and Switzerland all compete for trading desks. Singapore’s pitch combines the concessionary rate, deep trade-finance banking, the rule of law, a dense double-tax-agreement network and proximity to Asian demand. The trade-off is the substance requirement: the rate is earned by locating real people and decisions in Singapore, not by routing invoices. For groups genuinely centralising Asian trade, that trade-off is usually worth making.

Banking and trade finance for trading companies

A trading desk lives or dies on its banking. Beyond a current account, GTP companies typically need trade-finance facilities — letters of credit, documentary collections, receivables financing and hedging lines. Singapore’s banks are deep in commodity and trade finance, but onboarding a new trading entity involves substantial due diligence on the group, the trade flows and the counterparties. Start the bank conversation early and in parallel with the incorporation, because facility approval can take longer than company registration and the desk cannot trade meaningfully without it.

Ongoing substance monitoring and documentation

Substance is not a one-off test at award; it is monitored across the incentive period. Keep contemporaneous evidence that the qualifying trades were managed in Singapore — trader location, decision logs, risk-committee minutes and the transfer-pricing file. Maintain a clean separation in the accounting between qualifying and non-qualifying income so the concessionary rate can be applied cleanly at assessment. A trading company that can produce, on request, a coherent story linking its people, its decisions and its qualifying income will sustain its award; one that cannot will struggle at renewal.

A pre-application checklist

Before approaching Enterprise Singapore, be ready to show projected qualifying turnover by product, the trading and risk headcount to be based in Singapore, the local business spending, the banking and trade-finance plan, and the transfer-pricing approach for intra-group trades. As with all incentives, the strength of the business case drives both the speed of approval and the rate ultimately offered.

FAQs

What rate does the Global Trader Programme give?
Approved companies are taxed at 5% or 10% on qualifying trading income, against the standard 17% rate. Most new awards are at 10%, with 5% reserved for larger, more substantive commitments.

Who administers the GTP?
Enterprise Singapore administers the programme; the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore applies the concessionary rate when assessing the company’s tax. The two bodies coordinate on substance and qualifying income.

Do I pay customs duty on goods traded through Singapore?
Most commercial goods carry no customs duty in Singapore. However, Goods and Services Tax at 9% generally applies on imports unless goods are moved through a free trade zone or held under a licensed regime such as a licensed warehouse.

How long does GTP approval take?
Incorporating the trading company takes one to three working days, while negotiating the GTP award with Enterprise Singapore typically takes 8–16 weeks depending on the strength of the business case.

Does the global minimum tax affect GTP companies?
Large multinational groups within scope of the global minimum tax may face a top-up to an effective 15% even where a concessionary rate applies. GTP applicants in big groups should model Pillar 2 before relying on a 5% or 10% headline 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.