Hand-Painted Oil Paintings Shipped to Singapore

Landed cost, honestly

Singapore is the easiest market we ship to

Singapore taxes almost nothing at the border. Duty is zero on paintings — the free port only taxes liquor, tobacco, vehicles and petroleum — and the single charge you will meet is 9% GST on the CIF value. That is a smaller landing cost than the UAE, the EU or the United States.

Customs duty	0% — paintings are non-dutiable goods in Singapore
GST	9% on the customs value, generally the CIF value
Combined import tax	9% — no duty, no VAT layer on top
Air freight	2–4 business days door to door
Sea freight	7–12 days, short-haul from Shenzhen
Clearance	TradeNet declaration, usually rapid for non-controlled goods
Trade terms	DAP by default · DDP on request (we prepay GST)
Invoicing	USD or SGD, with commercial invoice and packing list
Who decides the final figure	Singapore Customs and IRAS — we estimate, they assess

GST is charged on the customs value, so freight and insurance are inside the base rather than on top of it — worth knowing when you compare quotes. Figures above are published references, not an assessment; confirm with your declaring agent before you finalise a budget. If you would rather not handle GST at all, ask for DDP.

Getting the size right

Singapore walls are not Gulf walls

This is the single most useful thing we can tell a Singapore buyer, and it is the opposite of what we tell buyers in Dubai. Space is the constraint here, and a canvas chosen for a villa lobby will swallow a condominium living room.

Scale down

One big canvas usually loses

A 150 cm piece needs a wall you probably do not have. Work in the 50×70 cm to 60×90 cm band and the room still reads as finished, without the painting doing all the talking.

Or split it

A diptych fills a narrow wall properly

When the wall is wide but low, two or three panels carrying one continuous composition give you the presence of a large work at a height the room can actually take. We paint the panels as a single image so the joins land correctly.

Frames

Lighter profiles, less gold

Contemporary Singapore interiors tend to run slim and neutral. A thin oak or matte black profile, or no frame at all with a gallery-wrapped edge, usually sits better than the heavy ornament that suits a Gulf villa.

Humidity

What the climate actually does to a canvas

Singapore sits near 80% relative humidity all year. Oil paint itself is not the problem — a properly cured oil film is remarkably tough. The vulnerable part is everything behind and around it.

The back of the canvas

Seal it, or it breathes your room

Damp air circulating behind a stretched canvas is how mould gets started. We fit a backing board on pieces going to humid climates, which costs very little and removes most of the risk.

Where you hang it

Not the kitchen, not the bathroom

Steady air-conditioned rooms are fine. Rooms that swing between steam and chilled air are where problems show up. If a piece must go near a window, keep it out of direct afternoon sun.

On arrival

Let it settle for a day

A canvas that has crossed from a Shenzhen studio into a humid Singapore afternoon needs time to adjust. Leave it in the room, out of the crate, for 24 hours before it goes on the wall.

How the order runs

From brief to hanging in Singapore

Six steps, and you see a photograph of your actual painting before anything is boxed.

01

Brief

Sizes, quantity, subject and the palette you are working to. A photograph of the wall and the room is the most useful thing you can send.

02

Quote

One figure covering painting, framing, packing and freight, with the 9% GST shown separately so you can see what DDP would save you.

03

Sample

One canvas painted to the agreed specification and photographed for approval. Nothing enters production until you say the sample is right.

04

Production

Painted, dried, varnished and framed, inspected against the approved sample. Dried properly, not merely touch-dry, so it travels well.

05

Photograph & pack

Every canvas photographed individually before packing, then corner-protected, wrapped and boxed, with a backing board on request.

06

Ship & clear

Tracked to Singapore with commercial invoice and packing list supplied. Under DDP, the 9% GST is settled before it reaches you.

Straight answers

Singapore buyers ask us these

Do you ship hand-painted oil paintings to Singapore?

Yes. We ship hand-painted oil paintings from Dafen, Shenzhen to Singapore, with air freight running 2 to 4 business days door to door after packing. Send your sizes and quantity on WhatsApp and we will quote painting, framing and freight together.

Is there import duty on oil paintings in Singapore?

No. Singapore is a free port and levies customs duty only on intoxicating liquor, tobacco, motor vehicles and petroleum products. Hand-executed paintings under HS heading 9701 come in at 0% duty. The only import tax you pay is GST.

How much GST applies to art imported into Singapore?

GST is 9%, charged on the customs value, which for commercial imports is generally the CIF value — cost, insurance and freight. On a shipment with a CIF value of SGD 1,000 and no duty payable, GST comes to SGD 90. Singapore Customs and IRAS make the final assessment.

How long does delivery to Singapore take?

Air freight runs 2 to 4 business days once the painting is packed and sea freight about 7 to 12 days, shorter than most long-haul routes because the run from Shenzhen to Singapore is a short one. Painting and drying time come first, and we quote the real production date rather than just the transit time.

What sizes suit a Singapore apartment?

Smaller than most buyers expect. HDB flats and condominiums rarely have the uninterrupted two-metre wall that a Gulf villa takes for granted, so a single very large canvas usually overwhelms the room. Pieces around 60 by 90 cm and under, or a diptych or triptych that reads as one composition across a narrower wall, tend to work better.

Will Singapore's humidity damage an oil painting?

Singapore sits near 80% relative humidity year round, and the risk is at the back of the canvas where damp air sits against the reverse. We seal the back with a backing board, avoid hanging in bathrooms and kitchens, and an air-conditioned room is fine. Give a painting a day to acclimatise indoors before hanging.

Do you work with interior designers in Singapore?

Yes, and designers are a large share of our project enquiries. Send the palette, the wall dimensions and the room photography, and we will come back with sizes and a specification rather than a catalogue link. We can paint to a designer's colour reference so the canvas lands on scheme.

Can you ship DDP to Singapore and invoice in SGD?

We invoice in USD or SGD. Shipments are DAP by default, meaning the 9% GST is paid by you on arrival, and DDP is available on request — we prepay GST so nothing is owed at the door. Many Singapore buyers choose DDP because it keeps the landed cost predictable.

Where else we ship

Also shipping to the UAE and beyond

The UAE is a different brief — 5% duty plus 5% VAT, and much larger walls. See shipping to the UAE for that breakdown, or how our supply network works if you are sourcing at scale.

Shipping to the UAE →

5% duty plus 5% VAT, 2–4 days by air, built for hotel and villa scale.

Custom from your photo →

Pet and family portraits, hand-painted in oil from a photograph you send.

Museum reproductions →

Hand-painted classics, in the size and frame that suit your room.

Send us the wall measurements

Singapore orders usually come down to getting the size right. Send the wall width and height, a photograph if you have one, and the palette you are working to — we reply with sizes, a specification and a landed cost including the 9% GST.

WhatsApp +86 198 0755 3684 Custom from your photo

No prices published — every quote is built around your sizes, frames and timeline. How to verify us · Contact