GST 2025: A Deeper Look at Common GST Errors and the Practical Steps you can take to avoid these Pitfalls

Description

Have you considered if the GST treatment that you have adopted in the business transactions of your organisation is in accordance with the GST legislation and the IRAS guidelines? Have you performed any post-filing review of the GST returns submitted? Based on the IRAS website, 2,521 GST audits were completed across various industries for the fiscal year 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024, resulting in a recovery of $162 million, including penalties.

Businesses, regardless of size or type (e.g. sole-proprietors, partnerships, corporates), are at higher risk of GST errors and penalties if they lack proper oversight of their GST compliance. Conversely, businesses with strong GST governance can avoid costly mistakes.

The GST legislation and the IRAS guidelines are constantly updated and as a GST-registered company, the GST preparers and reviewers should be aware of these changes to avoid making any errors.

This workshop is based on actual cases of common non-compliance with an elaboration of the relevant GST legislation and the IRAS guidelines, accumulated from the experience gathered by the trainer for the past 30 over years. Engaging and interactive, the practical workshop offers you a different learning approach.

Programme Outline

• Areas of non-compliance for both supplies and purchases
• How to perform a self-review, prior to and after the submission of GST return to identify errors or potential errors
• What are the controls you could establish to prevent errors from occurring
• What are the consequences of non-compliance with GST legislation and IRAS guidelines

What you will learn

• Ensure that the personnel involved in GST matters are equipped with adequate GST knowledge
• Understand the common GST errors made by businesses and learn how you can avoid these pitfalls
• Understand the current areas of IRAS audit and the common errors made by businesses
• Increase efficiency by streamlining processes, strengthening controls and minimizing errors

Target Audience

• Finance Professionals
• Tax Professionals
• GST preparer/reviewer
• Directors and Business Owners

Expert Speaker

Gan Hwee Leng
Head of Tax, Alliance of Associated Advisors (AAA) Pte Ltd

Hwee Leng is a Tax Partner with extensive experience in Goods and Services Tax (GST) matters, both as a regulator and business adviser. She retired as a partner from the Indirect Tax Practice at a big four accounting firm (KPMG) in 2022 and remained a consultant with KPMG until September 2024.

Prior to her consulting career, Hwee Leng has been with the IRAS for 15 years, involved in tax policy matters on GST as well as corporate tax, advance income tax ruling, international taxation, transfer pricing and tax treaties. Hwee Leng was also part of the GST implementation team in the IRAS and involved in the drafting of the various circulars on the operation of GST, the GST legislation, schemes for businesses and the marketing of GST to the public and businesses and audit of businesses.

Hwee Leng is a regular contributor in tax publications, and has been recognised as one of the leading tax practitioners by the International Tax Review, and one of the leading women tax practitioners by the International Tax Review in the past few years.

Hwee Leng is a regular speaker at tax seminars and has represented KPMG to attend the OECD Technical Advisory Group / Business and Industry Advisory Committee meetings and was a member of the KPMG Global Indirect Tax Services Policy Group.