Trade Circular on Revision To The Fee For Permit To Import Frozen, Chilled And Processed Meat Products

All Meat Traders / Declaring Agents

Dear Sir / Madam

REVISION TO THE FEE FOR PERMIT TO IMPORT FROZEN, CHILLED AND PROCESSED MEAT PRODUCTS

1. SFA will revise the permit fee to import frozen, chilled and processed meat products. The revised fee is $300 per permit and will come into effect from 18 Nov 2024 (Monday).

2. In preparation for this transition, there will be a downtime of SFA’s system from 16 Nov 2024 12pm to 18 Nov 2024 12am. Traders should avoid submitting permit application during this period.  SFA will resume the processing of permit applications after 12am on 18 Nov 2024, when the revised fee will apply. We apologise for any inconvenience caused during the transition period. 

3. The fees chargeable are shown in Annex A. SFA strongly urge traders to:

1. plan their permit applications around the system downtime; and to
2. keep a record (screen grab or system acknowledgement of the submitted permit application) should there be a need for reconciliation

 4. Please do not hesitate to contact us at https://sfa.gov.sg/feedback, if you have any other queries.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. Why is SFA revising the fee structure from the existing rate of $4.60 per 100kg or part thereof to a flat rate of $300 per permit?

In recent years, SFA has moved away from 100% inspection of imported frozen, chilled and processed (FCP) meat and switched to a more targeted approach for inspection. This has enabled SFA to enhance operational efficiency and allowed the revision of the fee to $300 per permit.

Q2. Is SFA collecting more revenue from this fee revision?

No. In fact, the fee revision will reduce the overall costs to the industry by S$10 million per year.  Traders could pay more under the new fee regime if they continue to import small quantities frequently.  However, as the fee is now charged on a per permit basis, traders could achieve cost savings by consolidating their imports and reducing the number of import permits required.  

Q3.  Does the fee of $300 per permit also apply for imported quantities that are less than 100kg, such as trade samples?

Traders will be charged a flat fee of $300 per permit, regardless of the quantity being imported.

Q4. What are the items that can be declared in the same permit?

Traders may declare in the same permit, consignments of meat products derived from different supply establishments from the source country only if the following conditions are met:

1. The consignments must be consigned to the same Singapore trader; 
2. Each consignment must be accompanied by a health certificate; AND
3. The consignments must arrive in Singapore in the same conveyance (sea freight or airfreight).

Q5. What will happen if I submit a permit application during the SFA system downtime?

While you can still submit your permit application, it will only be processed on 18 Nov with the new fee of $300 per permit applied. We strongly urge traders to plan their permit application to avoid the downtime.

Q6. Is this the only fee review that SFA is doing?  

SFA reviews import fees regularly to ensure that they commensurate with the underlying costs of regulating the import of food. SFA will continue to engage industry on such reviews.