How to Know If a Company Is GST Registered

The fastest answer: search the IRAS GST register

If you are asking how to know if a company is GST registered in Singapore, the reliable answer is the official IRAS GST Registered Business Search. It is free, it needs no login, and it returns the current listing for a business name, UEN, or GST registration number. Supplier websites, directories, and old invoices can lag behind reality, so treat the IRAS register as the deciding source and everything else as background. With the supplier UEN ready, the whole check takes about a minute.

The search runs on the myTax Portal GST listing page published by the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore. You can open the IRAS GST Registered Business Search directly, or use the guided steps in the Oxaide GST check tool, which walks through the same official search and explains the result.

1. Open the IRAS GST Registered Business Search on the myTax Portal and wait for the search form to load.
2. Enter one identifier: the supplier UEN is best, the GST registration number works too, or type at least the first five characters of the registered business name.
3. Complete the picture code shown on the page, which IRAS uses to gate every search.
4. Submit the search and read the result line, which shows the business name, GST registration number, and effective date of registration when the business is listed.
5. Save or screenshot the result with the date, so your accounts team can tie the check to the invoice batch it covers.

Search by UEN wherever possible. Business names have variants, old names, and lookalike spellings, while the UEN is unique to the entity. If you do not have it, confirm the exact registered name first through the Oxaide UEN check tool or the Oxaide company directory before running the GST search, because a name mismatch is the most common cause of a confusing not-found result.

• Have ready before you start: the supplier UEN from its invoice or business profile.
• Have ready before you start: the exact registered business name as printed on ACRA records.
• Have ready before you start: the invoice date, so you can compare it with the effective date shown on the register.

How to read the register result

A REGISTERED result means the business appears on the IRAS GST register at the time of your search. The listing shows the registered name, the GST registration number, and the effective date from which the business is registered. That effective date matters as much as the yes-or-no answer, because a supplier that registered this month was not entitled to charge GST on last quarter invoices, even though it is correctly registered today.

GST registration numbers follow formats IRAS documents on the search page itself. Many companies simply use their UEN as the GST number, for example in the style of 200312345A for a local company or T08FC1234A for a foreign company branch. Other formats carry distinct prefixes: numbers starting with M cover businesses under group or divisional registration, MR prefixes relate to sole proprietorship references for GST matters, and MB and MX prefixes relate to overseas vendors under the simplified regime. These are format illustrations taken from IRAS search guidance, not real businesses.

A NOT-FOUND result means no listing matched what you typed at that moment. Before concluding the business is unregistered, recheck the UEN digit by digit and try the registered name variant. If the register page itself cannot be read, for example because the picture code will not load, the honest verdict is UNKNOWN, not likely registered and not likely unregistered. Corroborating signals such as the supplier saying it charges GST, or its website stating prices are inclusive of GST, are context only and never override the register read.

• REGISTERED with an effective date on or before the invoice date: the listing supports the GST charge on that invoice.
• REGISTERED with an effective date after the invoice date: query the invoice, because registration does not backdate the right to charge GST.
• NOT-FOUND after a careful UEN search: treat the supplier as unregistered for that transaction and ask for a corrected invoice without GST.
• UNKNOWN because the page could not be searched: retry the official search before paying, and keep the evidence with your payment file.

This page is a register lookup guide only. Whether GST should have been charged on your specific transaction, and how to treat input tax on your own return, are questions for your accountant. The register tells you the supplier status, and your adviser decides the treatment.

Why a live Singapore company may still not be GST registered

ACRA live status and IRAS GST registration are two different registers that answer two different questions. ACRA records show the entity exists and is alive to trade, while only the IRAS register shows it may charge GST. Scale helps keep this distinction vivid: the ACRA register snapshot carried on this site counts 624271 live companies within 2124508 total entities on record, a reminder that most entities a buyer meets are ordinary small businesses rather than large GST-collecting traders. Never read live on ACRA as registered for GST.

Compulsory GST registration turns on taxable turnover of more than S$1 million, tested two ways under IRAS rules. The retrospective test looks back at the past twelve months, and the prospective test looks forward to the next twelve months where the business can reasonably expect to cross the line. A business that crosses the line must apply within 30 days of becoming liable. IRAS explains the current tests on its check if you need to register for GST page, and our companion guide to GST registration requirements in Singapore walks through the tests in plain language.

Below the threshold, registration is a choice, not a duty. Some smaller firms register voluntarily so they can claim input tax on their own purchases, while others stay unregistered and must not add GST to invoices. Businesses making only exempt supplies, such as certain financial services and residential property transactions, sit outside the charging system altogether. That is why two live companies side by side in the same industrial estate can correctly hold opposite GST positions.

• Newly incorporated companies very often trade unregistered for their first stretch while turnover builds toward the threshold.
• Dormant or holding entities may hold live ACRA status for years without ever making taxable supplies.
• Freelancers and sole proprietors register only when their own turnover crosses the line, so individual suppliers vary widely.
• Overseas vendors without Singapore registration give no basis for input tax claims, whatever their home country paperwork says.

Cross-check the invoice and the UEN before you pay

The register answers the status question, but the invoice answers the money question, so check both together. A GST-registered supplier in Singapore must show its GST registration number on tax invoices, simplified tax invoices, and receipts, alongside the GST amount charged. If the invoice adds a GST line but carries no GST number, or the number differs from the register listing, pause the payment and ask for a corrected document before month end pressure makes the error permanent.

The arithmetic check is simple because Singapore currently has a single prevailing rate. IRAS confirms GST-registered businesses must charge and account for GST at 9 percent on standard-rated supplies, the rate in force from 1 January 2024, as set out on the IRAS prevailing GST rate page. An invoice showing 8 percent or 7 percent on a current supply, or a GST amount that does not equal 9 percent of the taxable subtotal, signals either an old template or a supplier confused about its own registration.

Consider a fictional example, labeled fictional: fictional supplier Bright Koi Renovation Services sends a S$10,000 invoice plus S$900 GST, quoting a UEN. The buyer searches that exact UEN on the IRAS register and finds NOT-FOUND. The right move is to pay the S$10,000 base only after the supplier reissues the invoice without GST, or with a corrected UEN that verifies as REGISTERED. Paying the GST line to an unregistered supplier leaves the buyer out of pocket with no valid input tax to claim.

• Red flag: a GST line on the invoice but no GST registration number printed anywhere on the document.
• Red flag: the GST number on the invoice does not match the number the register shows for that UEN.
• Red flag: the supplier insists it is registered but suggests you skip verification because approval is in progress.
• Red flag: prices quoted inclusive of GST on the website while the register shows NOT-FOUND for the billing entity.

If you spot any of these, write to the supplier citing the register result date and ask for one of two things: a corrected invoice without GST, or the correct billing entity and UEN that verifies as REGISTERED. Keep the register screenshot, the original invoice, and the correction together. For a fuller payment file routine, see our GST registration check guide for Singapore and the deeper GST standing check workflow.

Timing traps: when a correct check still misleads

The most overlooked trap is the effective date. GST registration starts on a specific day, and only supplies made on or after that day can carry GST. A buyer who checks today, sees REGISTERED, and approves an invoice from three months before the effective date has verified the wrong thing. Always compare the invoice or delivery date with the effective date on the listing, especially for project billings that span registration.

Two structural cases deserve extra care. First, businesses under GST group or divisional registration bill through numbers that differ from their own UEN, so a direct UEN search may need a follow-up search on the group number shown on the invoice. Second, overseas digital service providers and low-value goods vendors can hold simplified registrations that appear in the register under their own reference formats. IRAS notes consumers and businesses may search these vendors through the same GST-registered business search, as explained in its guidance on purchasing remote services from overseas providers.

Deregistration is the mirror trap. A supplier that was registered last year may have deregistered since, and old email threads saying the firm is GST registered do not survive that change. For repeat suppliers, diary a fresh register check at least when onboarding, when the billing entity changes, and once a year for material spend. Each check costs a minute and protects every invoice paid until the next one.

• Recheck when the billing entity or UEN on the invoice changes, even within the same corporate group.
• Recheck when a long-quiet supplier resumes billing after a gap of several months.
• Recheck when the GST number format on the invoice changes, which can signal a move into or out of group registration.
• Recheck before claiming input tax on any unusually large invoice, whatever the history with that supplier.

File each check with the supplier record: register result, search date, UEN searched, and who ran it. That small habit turns a one-minute search into an audit trail your accountant and any future reviewer can follow without asking twice.

GST registration checks: frequently asked questions

These short answers cover the questions buyers ask most after running their first register search. For the full walkthrough, return to the steps at the top of this page or open the Oxaide GST check tool.

Can I check by company name alone?

Yes. The IRAS search accepts the business name with a minimum of the first five characters. Name searches are useful when you have no UEN, but they can return lookalikes or miss the entity under a slightly different registered spelling. Confirm the UEN through ACRA records or the supplier invoice, then rerun the search on the UEN for a conclusive read.

Does holding a UEN prove GST registration?

No. Every registered entity in Singapore holds a UEN from ACRA, while only a subset holds GST registration from IRAS. The UEN is the key you use to search the GST register, not the answer itself. A live UEN with a NOT-FOUND GST result simply means an existing business that is not currently registered for GST.

What if the invoice shows GST but the register shows nothing?

Do not pay the GST portion until the position is resolved. Ask the supplier for a corrected invoice without GST, or for the correct billing entity and number that verifies as REGISTERED with an effective date covering your invoice. Only GST-registered businesses may charge and collect GST, so an unregistered GST line is an error the supplier must fix, whatever its explanation.

How current is the IRAS register?

The register reflects the current listing at the moment you search, including the effective date of registration. It does not show applications still being processed, so a supplier that applied yesterday but is not yet approved will still return NOT-FOUND today. Time your check close to payment for large invoices rather than relying on a search from months ago.

Do overseas sellers appear in the register?

Overseas vendors registered under the simplified pay-only regime do appear, under their own reference formats rather than a local UEN. Search them by business name or the GST reference number shown on their invoice. If an overseas seller charges GST but cannot be found, query the charge before paying, since only registered vendors are authorised to collect GST from Singapore buyers.

• Next step: run the Oxaide GST check tool for a guided one-minute search.
• Next step: verify the entity identity first with the Oxaide UEN check tool.
• Next step: read the guide to checking if a company is legitimate in Singapore for wider onboarding checks.
• Next step: paying a vendor invoice? Verify the supplier before you pay covers invoice red flags and unregistered charges.