GST Compliance for Banks and Financial Institutions: Essential Updates and Controls to Avoid Errors in your GST Reporting and Returns

Description

Are you confident that the GST treatment adopted for your banking transactions aligns with Singapore’s GST legislation and the IRAS guidelines? Are you an ACAP-compliant bank? Are you aware of the recent changes in the banking industry including reverse charge, overseas vendor registration, alternative input tax recovery method? Have you conducted a post-filing review of the GST returns you have submitted to ensure compliance? According to the IRAS, a total of 2,521 GST audits were completed across various sectors for the fiscal year from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024, resulting in a recovery of $162 million, including penalties.

Financial institutions face unique challenges on GST compliance. An inadequate GST controls and governance may expose these entities to errors, audits, and potential penalties. Having adequate controls and governance around GST compliance can help mitigate the risk of costly mistakes.

As a GST-registered bank, it is critical to stay updated with the amendments to the GST legislation and the IRAS guidelines. All personnel involved in GST preparation and review must be proactive in understanding these changes to ensure compliance.

This workshop will walk you through real-life examples of common GST non-compliance issues within the financial industry. You will gain practical insights into the relevant GST legislation and IRAS guidelines based on the trainer's extensive 30 plus years of experience in this sector. The session is designed to be engaging and interactive, offering an alternative learning experience.

Programme Outline

• Recent changes that are relevant to banking industry including reverse charge, overseas vendor registration and concessions granted to banks and alternative input tax methodology
• The common GST errors made by banks
• A deeper look at the controls you could establish to prevent errors from occurring
• How to conduct a post-filing review

What you will learn

• Ensure that the personnel involved in GST matters are equipped with adequate GST knowledge
• Understand the common errors made by other banks
• Increase efficiency by streamlining processes, strengthening controls and minimizing errors

Target Audience

• Finance Professionals
• Tax Professionals
• GST preparers/reviewers

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.