Singapore's government spends more than SGD 20 billion on goods and services each year. Every dollar of that flows through one portal: GeBIZ at gebiz.gov.sg. If your business is not registered there, you cannot receive a single purchase order from any ministry, statutory board, or government agency.
This guide covers registration, the tender categories you need to know, GST requirements, the nETT framework for innovative companies, and the practical tactics that separate winning bids from also-rans.
What GeBIZ is and who manages it
GeBIZ is the Singapore Government's one-stop procurement portal, managed by the Government Technology Agency (GovTech) and the Ministry of Finance. It went live in 2000 and today hosts thousands of active opportunities at any given time, ranging from a SGD 3,000 printing job to a multi-year IT infrastructure contract worth tens of millions.
All 80+ government ministries and statutory boards post their procurement needs here. Buyers include the Ministry of Health, Housing Development Board, Land Transport Authority, and Enterprise Singapore, among others.
Step 1: Get your UEN from ACRA
You cannot register on GeBIZ without a Unique Entity Number (UEN). If you are a Singapore-incorporated company, your UEN was issued when ACRA (Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority) registered your business. You can verify it at www.bizfile.gov.sg at no cost.
Foreign companies bidding on Singapore government contracts must register a local entity or branch with ACRA before they can proceed. There is no workaround for this requirement.
Step 2: Register on the GeBIZ supplier portal
Go to gebiz.gov.sg and click "Register as Supplier." The process requires:
- Your UEN
- Company name and address exactly as filed with ACRA
- A Corppass account (Singapore's business digital identity system) for the person completing the registration
- Bank account details for payment purposes
- Contact information for your primary procurement representative
Registration is free. Once approved, your company receives a GeBIZ login and can access all open opportunities immediately.
Corppass setup is the step most first-timers underestimate. If your company does not already have a Corppass administrator, budget two to five business days to set one up through the Corppass portal at corppass.gov.sg, as it requires SingPass verification for the designated admin.
The three procurement categories
Singapore's procurement framework splits opportunities into three tiers based on contract value.
Quotations (ITQ — Invitation to Quote): For contracts below SGD 1 million. Agencies can invite specific suppliers directly or open the quote to all registered suppliers. This is where most SMEs start. The paperwork is lighter, the decision timeline is faster, and the competition is narrower than for full tenders.
Restricted Tenders (ITT — Invitation to Tender, restricted): For contracts above SGD 1 million where the agency has pre-qualified a shortlist. You must be on the agency's approved vendor list or respond to a prior Expression of Interest (EOI) to participate. Getting onto these lists takes time, so start early.
Open Tenders (ITT — open): Any registered supplier can submit a bid regardless of prior relationship. Most large contracts above SGD 1 million are conducted this way. Full technical and commercial evaluation applies.
Knowing which category a contract falls into tells you how much effort to invest in qualifying the opportunity before writing your bid.
The SME advantage in ITQ procurement
Singapore's government deliberately reserves Invitations to Quote below SGD 1 million for SMEs. An SME in this context means a company registered in Singapore with annual sales turnover not exceeding SGD 100 million, or with a workforce of not more than 200 employees (using whichever threshold applies to your industry sector, per the Enterprise Singapore definition).
If you qualify, this reservation matters. Large multinationals and government-linked companies cannot compete against you in the ITQ tier. A municipal printing contract, a facilities maintenance job, or a data entry project worth SGD 400,000 sits in a pool where your main competition is other local SMEs.
Focus your early pipeline here. Win a few ITQs, build your track record with government agencies, and use those past-performance references when you later pursue restricted or open tenders.
GeBIZ Alert: never miss a tender
GeBIZ Alert is the portal's free notification service. You configure it once, specify keywords and commodity categories relevant to your business, and receive email notifications whenever a matching opportunity is posted.
Without GeBIZ Alert, you are manually checking the portal. That is a losing approach given the volume of postings. Set up alerts for your core service categories on day one of registration.
The commodity classification system GeBIZ uses follows the United Nations Standard Products and Services Code (UNSPSC). When configuring alerts, map your services to the correct UNSPSC codes rather than relying on keyword matching alone. A keyword like "software" will generate noise. The UNSPSC code for "application implementation services" (43232000) will not.
GST registration requirement above SGD 1 million
If your annual taxable turnover exceeds SGD 1 million, IRAS (Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore) requires you to register for GST (Goods and Services Tax). As of 2024, the GST rate is 9%.
Government agencies in Singapore are generally not exempt from paying GST. That means your invoice to a ministry for a taxable supply should include GST if you are registered. Failing to register when required is a compliance breach that can disqualify your bid or create post-award complications.
Check your turnover threshold before submitting any large tender. If you are close to the SGD 1 million threshold and expect a government contract to push you over, register proactively. Voluntary registration is available below the threshold if it helps your cash flow position with government buyers who are themselves GST-registered bodies.
The nETT framework for innovative solutions
nETT (non-Traditional Tender) is Singapore's procurement mechanism for buying innovative products and services where no established specification exists. Instead of agencies writing a detailed specification and asking suppliers to match it, they post a problem statement and invite market solutions.
GovTech and selected agencies use nETT for pilot projects, proof-of-concept engagements, and technology experimentation. Contract values in nETT tend to be smaller (often SGD 50,000 to SGD 500,000) but the evaluation criteria weight innovation and fit over price. For a startup or a company with a differentiated product, nETT is worth tracking.
nETT opportunities appear on GeBIZ alongside conventional tenders. They are also posted on the Open Innovation Platform (OIP) at openinnovation.gov.sg, which specifically targets deep-tech and product companies.
Writing a bid that evaluates well
Singapore government procurement evaluation is formal. Most tenders use a weighted scorecard with separate scores for technical quality and price. The technical weight often ranges from 40% to 70% for service contracts.
A few things that consistently matter:
Answer the evaluation criteria, not the problem. The tender document will list specific evaluation criteria: perhaps "experience in similar projects," "proposed methodology," and "team qualifications." Write a response that directly addresses each criterion with evidence. Do not describe your company's general capabilities at length if the criterion asks for project-specific experience.
Use government-recognizable references. Past work with Singapore statutory boards, ministries, or GLC (government-linked companies) carries more weight in evaluations than private sector references when you are competing for a government contract. If you have done work for Temasek, CapitaLand, or a statutory board, lead with it.
Price competitively, not cheaply. Abnormally low bids trigger clarification requests and can be disqualified under the Financial Rules. Agencies are required to assess whether a low bid is commercially sustainable. Price to win, but price to deliver.
Submit before the deadline. GeBIZ portals close electronically at the stated time. A submission one minute late is rejected automatically. Build in two to three hours of buffer to handle upload issues or portal slowdowns, which occur.
Request clarifications. Every tender has a question-and-answer period. If a requirement is ambiguous, submit a clarification request through the portal. The agency's answer is posted publicly and becomes part of the tender record. Agencies respect bidders who engage seriously during this phase.
Building a track record from zero
The hardest part of government contracting in Singapore is the first contract. Agencies default to suppliers with government references. To break in:
Register early, before you need the work. Profile setup and Corppass administration take time. Do it now.
Target ITQ opportunities under SGD 100,000 first. The evaluation is simpler, the turnaround is faster, and a single awarded contract creates the government reference you need.
Attend agency industry days and market engagement sessions. GovTech, GeBIZ's manager, hosts regular briefings for prospective suppliers. Ministry of Finance publishes a Government Procurement Policy Framework that explains evaluation norms. Reading it takes an afternoon and removes most of the confusion first-time bidders carry into their proposals.
Singapore's government procurement system is legible, rules-based, and genuinely accessible to SMEs that take the time to understand it. The portal is free, the rules are published, and the SME reserve in the ITQ tier is real. The work is in the setup and the discipline of responding well.
Start with registration. Set your GeBIZ Alerts. File for Corppass. Then go find your first ITQ.
