Importing Korean skincare into Singapore
What the border charges, where each shop stops charging for shipping, and what the two together mean for the order you were going to place anyway.
What does Singapore charge on an imported parcel?
Singapore GST above S$400.
Under S$400 the border charges no GST. Stylevana's Singapore checkout adds none, and YesStyle's price already includes it. nuvy compares your USD order
against it using the dated rate in fx.json — the threshold itself is written in
the country's own currency, and the USD figure is nuvy's arithmetic, not a published line.
Above it, 9% is charged — on the whole value of the goods, not only the part over the line. Shipping is not taxed.
Customs rule last checked on 2026-10-02. The rule read was GST on imported goods above S$400; cosmetics carry no customs duty (Singapore Customs) — the notice itself. These change — the US $800 exemption was suspended on 2025-08-29 — so treat an old date as a reason to verify.
This is what the border charges. A consumption tax the shop itself collects at its own checkout — where the shop is registered to collect it — is already inside the price nuvy shows, and is not added again here.
Duty, tariff, customs, import fees — which is which
Duty and tariff are the same charge, and "customs" is both the agency that collects it and the everyday word for it. It is a percentage of what the goods are worth, decided by the border rather than by the shop.
VAT and GST are a different tax. A country can charge duty, a consumption tax, both, or neither, which is why there is a page per country rather than one rule for everywhere. Into Singapore, the charge nuvy quotes is one thing: Singapore GST above S$400.
"Import fees" is an umbrella — it covers everything above, and it is also where one charge hides that nuvy does not quote: a courier's own fee for clearing the parcel and fronting the tax. That one is the courier's, not the border's, and it is not in any total on this page. Everything nuvy does put a number on is above.
Where does each shop's free-shipping line fall?
| Shop | Free shipping from | Fee below | Delivery |
|---|---|---|---|
| YesStyle | $50.00 | $4.00 | 3–5 days |
| Stylevana | $35.00 | $3.99 | 3–7 days |
| BuyBeautyKorea | no minimum | — | 3–9 days |
Between a shop's free-shipping line and the border's, there is no shipping fee and nothing for the border to collect: YesStyle from $50.00, Stylevana from $35.00 and BuyBeautyKorea on any order, up to about $311.
What does a real routine cost at your door?
A 6-step dry-skin routine — one of the four nuvy builds, and the middle one by price — delivered to Singapore:
| Shop | Products | Import | At your door |
|---|---|---|---|
| YesStyle | $70.68 | — | $70.68 |
| BuyBeautyKorea | $134.70 | — | $134.70 |
Every shop here ships this order free.
YesStyle lands $64.02 less than BuyBeautyKorea at the door. Same border charge at both — the difference is the shop's own prices and shipping.
What will your order cost at the door?
Type your order total. Each shop's own shipping line and what Singapore adds, side by side. This compares what each shop adds on top of the same order value — the same products can be priced differently at each shop.
Every shop, in detail
Other countries
- Importing into the United States
- Importing into the Philippines
- Importing into Canada
- Every shop and country nuvy checks
Questions people ask
How much import duty does Singapore charge on Korean skincare?
Singapore GST above S$400. Below the threshold the border charges nothing at all. Above it, 9% is charged — on the whole value of the goods, not only the part over the line. Shipping is not taxed.
Which shop has the lowest free-shipping threshold for Singapore?
BuyBeautyKorea ships free to Singapore with no minimum order. YesStyle ships free over $50.00, or $4.00 below that; Stylevana ships free over $35.00, or $3.99 below that.
When was this customs rule last checked?
On 2026-10-02, against GST on imported goods above S$400; cosmetics carry no customs duty (Singapore Customs). Customs rules change, so an old date is a reason to verify before ordering.