Exemption of GST for Investment grade gold, silver, platinum in Singapore

Source: IRAS

With effect from 1st Oct, there is no GST (7% as of now) for "precious metals in the form of a bar, ingot, wafer and coin which meet certain criteria"

So what exactly are they? From the IRAS document one can see, 

• gold of at least 99.5% purity, silver of at least 99.9% purity  or platinum of at least 99% purity; and
• For gold and silver, a  refiner in the current or former „Good Delivery‟ list of the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA)
• It bears a mark or characteristic that is internationally accepted as guaranteeing its quality.

In a nutshell, all Gold Coins from the mints like American buffalo, Australian Kangaroo Nugget, Canada Maple Leaf & Singapore lion are exempted. 

The tricky part is where the gold bars / coins from resellers like Mustafa (i.e. 100 grams biscuit; etc). Today majority of coins meet above requirements (i.e. purity & mark) but I saw Mustafa charging GST. The exception is to the bars of 1KG. So it seems it's still good to buy from places like Dubai (you may end up paying GST though); For the investment, I still prefer ETF's. Second choice would be  UOB / CITI Bank savers accounts.