GST Registration Update 2025: IRAS Extends Grace Period

What changed and how it affect your business

IRAS has extended the grace period for businesses that register for GST under the prospective view (i.e., you forecast that you’ll cross S$1m in the next 12 months). If your date of forecast is on or after 1 Jul 2025, you now have two months (previously one) from your effective date of registration to start charging GST. This eases immediate operational pressure but doesn’t relax any other GST obligations or penalties for late/incorrect accounting.

At the same time, IRAS is rolling out the GST InvoiceNow Requirement, which gradually makes Peppol/InvoiceNow e-invoicing and data transmission to IRAS mandatory for new voluntary registrants from 1 Nov 2025 and 1 Apr 2026. Plan your GST onboarding together with e-invoicing to avoid rework.

Who the 2-month grace period applies to

Businesses registering for GST under the prospective basis, where the date of forecast is on/after 1 Jul 2025.
It gives you up to two months after your effective registration date to start issuing tax invoices and charging GST—useful if your systems need set-up time.

Note: This is not a holiday from record-keeping or returns. Once registered, you must track taxable supplies and purchases correctly from day one and file GST F5 on time—even if you only start charging customers a few weeks later.

Link this to the new e-invoicing mandate

If you’re voluntarily registering for GST close to year-end or in early 2026, confirm whether you fall into the first phases of the InvoiceNow Requirement and pick software that can send invoice data to IRAS. Doing this at registration saves a messy migration later.

Action checklist for new or soon-to-be GST registrants

Choose your registration path (retrospective vs prospective).
If you crossed S$1m retrospectively, the grace period doesn’t save you—late registration still triggers back-dated GST and penalties.
Fix your effective date early.
Once IRAS confirms it, align your software systems, billing dates, and contract wording to avoid issuing non-compliant invoices.
Map your invoice flows to InvoiceNow.
Select an InvoiceNow-ready solution like Xero and register for a Peppol ID if you’re in scope now (or will be soon).
Set up GST controls.
- Tax codes.
- Boxes 1–13 mapping for GST F5.
- Evidence retention (tax invoices, import permits etc.) for 5 years.
Train your team.
Sales, finance and ops must know when to start charging, how to issue tax invoices, and how to handle credit notes during the grace window.

Common mistakes (we see them every month)

Assuming the grace period delays returns. It does not—your first F5 still follows your assigned cycle.
Charging GST before effective date (illegal) or forgetting to charge after the two-month window (under-collection risk).
Skipping e-invoicing planning. If you register voluntarily near Nov 2025/Apr 2026, you’ll likely need InvoiceNow from day one.

How Excellence Singapore makes this easy

GST registration advice (prospective vs retrospective) and effective-date planning.
InvoiceNow-ready set-up: choose the right software, register Peppol ID, and enable IRAS data transmission.
System configuration: tax codes, GST F5 box mapping, document templates, and compliance SOPs.
Ongoing filing: monthly/quarterly GST returns, error corrections, and IRAS liaison.

Conclusion

The new two-month grace period helps you switch on GST cleanly, but only if your systems, invoicing and controls are ready. Align registration, InvoiceNow, and GST filing from the start to avoid penalties and rework.