Singapore Tobacco Import/Wholesale License Application
Pursuant to the Tobacco (Control of Advertisements and Sale) Act ("the Act") and the regulations made under it, any company or business intends to import and wholesale any tobacco products in Singapore need to apply for a Tobacco Import/Wholesale License from the Health Sciences Authority (HSA).
The licensee is only allowed to store the stock of tobacco products at the premises specified in the license. The licensee is required to furnish the Authority documentary proof showing legal right of the licensee to storage use of such premises. The Authority may revoke his license in the absence of such proof for the duration of this license.
The licensee shall be responsible for and shall ensure that all activities and transactions carried out at the premises specified in the license in relation to the licensed tobacco products. The licensee must inform the Authority in writing of any additional variant of tobacco product(s) and additional tobacco product(s) [that has not been notified to the Authority as part of the licence register] which the licensee intends to import for sale in Singapore, at least 14 days prior to import, and must provide the Authority with samples of the additional variant of tobacco product(s) and additional tobacco product(s) upon request.
No person below the Minimum Legal Age (MLA) can sell, offer for sale, possess for sale or permit to be sold or offered any tobacco product at the licensed premises. The MLA for the purchase, use, possession, sale and supply of tobacco products 21 years old with effect from 1 January 2021.
Under the Act, the yield limit of nicotine and tar is 1.0 mg and 10.0 mg, respectively. All cigarillos imported, distributed, or retailed, must contain no less than 20 sticks per packs. Licensee must also ensure that all tobacco products carry the mandatory health-warning labels in compliance with the Act. In addition, advertisements relating to tobacco products and imitation tobacco products are prohibited in Singapore.
- Services and Fees
Our fee for application for the tobacco import/wholesale license with HSA is SD2,800 (excluding of the applicable fee of SGD2,720.00 payable to the HSA).
In particular, our fee includes the following services:
(1)
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Answering questions raised by client in respect of the requirements for the application of the licence;
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(2)
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Preparation of documents in respect of the application for the licence;
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(3)
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Liaising with HSA regarding the application of licence;
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(4)
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Reporting to client on the progress of licence application.
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Note: Our fee does not cover courier charge, if any.
- Payment Terms and Methods
Upon receipt of your confirmation of engagement, we will issue and send an invoice together with the wiring instructions to you for your settlement. When you arrange the payment, please put our invoice number of account number in the message section and then send email a copy of the remittance receipt to us for our records. Because of the nature of service, we require full payment in advance. And once the service is commenced, no refund of service fee will be made.
We accept cash, HKD check, TT and credit card through Paypal. An extra handling fee of 5% will be charged if paid by Paypal.
- Eligibility
You need to ensure that you meet all the following criteria before you qualify to apply for a Tobacco Import/Wholesale license for your company: -
- The company must be registered with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA);
- You must be a Singapore Citizen, Singapore Permanent Resident or possess a FIN issued by the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) (i.e. EntrePass or Employment Pass holder);
- You must be a director of the company, a partner of the partnership, or the sole proprietor of the sole proprietorship
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- Application process and documents required
Applications is to be made using the electronic application service provided at the HSA Portal, accompanied by a new license application fee of SGD2,720. If the license is cancelled, withdrawn or rejected before the license takes effect, the administrative fee of SGD100 will be charged and the remaining of SGD2,620 will be refunded to the company.
The company is required to submit the following supporting documents in English to the HSA for application processing:-
(1)
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Photocopy of NRIC of the applicant |
(2)
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Photocopy of Business Registration Certificate |
(3)
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Photocopy of tenancy agreement for warehouse |
(4)
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Letter of authorisation from manufacturer on the tobacco products to be imported (or letter of authorisation from importer for wholesaler) |
(5)
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Tar and nicotine testing results |
(6)
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GIRO Form |
The licenses are issued with 1-year validity unless otherwise stated.
License Fee is per year and is payable at the point of submission of the application. Subsequent payment of license should be made by GIRO. The renewal fee of license for each subsequent year is SGD2,400.
- Time Frame for Application
The normal processing time for an application is 14 working days from the recipient of the application and the necessary supporting documents. Processing time starts from the date of application is received to the date of approval or rejection.
See also:
Singapore Tobacco Retail/Wholesale Licence Application Guide
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