“Privatizing” the GST Audit: Singapore’s Compliance Programmes

In recent years, the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore introduced two goods and services tax compliance programmes. In this article, the author describes these programmes and observes how they effectively “privatize” the GST audits, particularly of larger businesses, by capitalizing on the potential and motivation of these businesses to incorporate tax risk management as part of overall corporate governance and by leveraging on the internal control processes and practices established by these businesses to secure voluntary compliance with the GST legislation.