New Bills

Singapore Land Authority Bill (B17/2001)

The Singapore Land Authority Bill 2001 seeks to establish and incorporate a new public corporation to be called the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) and to transfer to SLA the functions, property, assets, liabilities and employees of the Singapore Land Registry (including its Land Dealings (Approval) Unit), the Land Office, the Survey Department and the Land Systems Support Unit.

Commodity Futures (Amendment) Bill (B18/2001)

This Bill seeks to amend the Commodity Futures Act to apply to all commodities and to expand the scope of the Act to allow the Trade Development Board (the Board) to license persons engaged in brokering or advisory functions in relation to trading in commodity futures contracts, commodity forward contracts, trading in differences, leveraged commodity trading and spot commodity trading.

Singapore Broadcasting Authority (Amendment) Bill (B19/2001)

The Singapore Broadcasting Authority (Amendment) Bill 2001 seeks to amend the Singapore Broadcasting Authority Act. In particular, a new Part IXA (consisting of new section 42A) on declared foreign broadcasting services will be introduced. Section 42A will empower the Minister for Information and the Arts, by order published in the Gazette, to declare any foreign broadcasting service that is rebroadcast in Singapore on any relevant licensable broadcasting service to be a foreign broadcasting service engaging in the domestic politics of Singapore.

Where a foreign broadcasting service is declared as a foreign broadcasting service engaging in the domestic politics of Singapore, no person shall include the declared foreign broadcasting service for rebroadcast in Singapore on any relevant licensable broadcasting service without the prior approval of the Minister. A new Seventh Schedule will also be inserted to set out the relevant licensable broadcasting services for the purposes of the new section.

New Acts

Intellectual Property Office of Singapore Act 2001 (A3/2001)

The Intellectual Property Office of Singapore Act 2001 establishes and incorporates a new public corporation called the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS). IPOS will administer various systems for the protection of intellectual property in Singapore, including the grant of patents and the registration of trade marks and designs. It will also advise the Government on matters relating to intellectual property, provide administrative support to the Copyright Tribunal and help develop the professions of design agents, patent agents, trade mark agents and advisers on intellectual property matters. The Act is operative from 1 April 2001.

Health Sciences Authority Act 2001 (A4/2001)

Effective from 1 April 2001, the Health Science Authority Act 2001 establishes and incorporates a new public corporation called the Health Sciences Authority and transfers to the Authority the functions, property, liabilities and employees of the existing Institute of Science and Forensic Medicine, Singapore Blood Transfusion Service, National Pharmaceutical Administration, Centre for Drug Evaluation and Product Regulation Department.

Children Development Co-Savings Act 2001(A13/2001)

Effective from 1 April 2001, the Children Development Co-Savings Act 2001 provides for regulations to be made to establish a scheme for the following purposes:

1. assist families so as to encourage married women to have two or more children; and
2. provide financial assistance for the development of the children of these families through a co-savings scheme whereby the Government will make contributions to an eligible child's bank account equal to the contributions made by any parent of the eligible child.

Most notably, the Act provides for maternity leave in relation to a third child. Effective from 1 April 2001, every female employee shall be entitled to absent herself from work:

1. during the period of four weeks immediately before and the period of four weeks immediately after her confinement; or
2. during the period of eight weeks, as agreed to by her and her employer, commencing not earlier than 28 days immediately preceding the day of her confinement or later than that day,

and for such period (the 'benefit period') she shall be entitled to receive payment from her employer at her gross rate of pay.

Similarly, a self-employed woman shall be entitled to claim from the Government the income she would have otherwise derived from her trade, business, profession or vocation had she continued to be actively engaged in such trade, business, profession or vocation during the confinement period.

No woman shall be entitled to the aforesaid benefits unless the following conditions are satisfied:

1. the child who is the subject of her confinement:
   • is a citizen of Singapore at the time of his birth;
   • is born alive on or after 1 April 2001; and
   • is the third child born alive to her;
2. she is lawfully married to the child's natural father at the time the child is conceived or becomes lawfully married to the child's natural father after the child is conceived but before the child's birth, whether or not such marriage remains subsisting at the time of the child's birth;
3. in the case of a female employee, she has served the employer for not less than 180 days immediately preceding the day of her confinement; and
4. in the case of a self-employed woman, she has been carrying on her trade, business, profession or vocation for a continuous period of not less than 180 days immediately preceding the day of her confinement.

The amount which may be claimed shall not exceed $20,000, which amount shall be inclusive of any contribution to the Central Provident Fund which an employer, a female employee or self-employed woman is liable to make under the Central Provident Fund Act.

The Act also provides that the very employer who makes any payment to a female employee as aforesaid shall be entitled to claim reimbursement of the payment and any contribution which he is liable to make in respect of such payment under the Central Provident Fund Act from the Government.

Control of Rent (Abolition) Act 2001 (A14/2001)

The Control of Rent (Abolition) Act 2001 repeals the Control of Rent Act and the Premiums on Leases Act with effect from 1 April 2001. The Controlled Premises (Special Provisions) Act will also be repealed, effective from a date to be notified.

Following the repeal of the Control of Rent Act, the following transitional provisions shall apply:

1. no proceedings for any offence under section 5 of the repealed Control of Rent Act (relating to charging of excess rent or premium in respect of certain tenancies) shall be taken without the prior consent of the Public Prosecutor (in place of the former Rent Conciliation Board established under section 8 of the repealed Control of Rent Act);
2. any pending application, proceeding, hearing or matter before the former Rent Conciliation Board shall be discontinued as from 1 April 2001;
3. any pending application, proceeding, hearing or matter before the High Court under section 12 (on a question of law referred by the Rent Conciliation Board to the High Court for consideration) and section 13 (for a review of decision of the Board) of the repealed Control of Rent Act shall be discontinued as from 1 April 2001. The High Court may award costs relating to the application, proceeding, hearing or matter. However, no member of the former Rent Conciliation Board shall be personally liable for any such costs;
4. any pending application, proceeding, hearing or matter before any court for the recovery of possession of premises under Part III of the repealed Control of Rent Act shall be discontinued as from 1 April 2001. However, the court may award costs relating to the application, proceeding, hearing or matter which is discontinued; and
5. any person who before 1 April 2001 was a statutory tenant shall continue to hold the premises upon the same terms and conditions as specified in section 28(a) and 28(c) of the repealed Control of Rent Act. However, either the landlord or the former statutory tenant may determine the tenancy by giving such notice as would be required by law to determine a monthly tenancy of the premises containing no express provision for determination. The effect is that the former statutory tenant will no longer have security of tenure over the tenancy.

The Act also amends the Controlled Premises (Special Provisions) Act. These amendments take effect from 1 April 2001 pending the final repeal of the Controlled Premises (Special Provisions) Act (which will be at a later date). The Controlled Premises (Special Provisions) Act is amended as follows:

1. to clarify that no application may be made for the recovery of controlled premises on or after 1 April 2001 and that any application, proceeding, hearing or matter before the Tenants' Compensation Board under section 4(1) and 4(3) which has not been determined by the Board before 1 April 2001 shall be discontinued from that date. The effect is that no order for the recovery of controlled premises may be granted by the Board on or after 1 April 2001. However, the provisions relating to the assessment and award of compensation in respect of an order for the recovery of possession of controlled premises made by the Board before 1 April 2001 are not affected;
2. that all moneys deposited with the Tenants' Compensation Board to meet any award of compensation under the repealed Controlled Premises (Special Provisions) Act and which are in the possession of that Board immediately before the date of repeal of the Controlled Premises (Special Provisions) Act are transferred to the Urban Redevelopment Authority; and
3. that any person claiming to be entitled to payment of the money or any part thereof may, within 12 months from the date of repeal of the Controlled Premises (Special Provisions) Act, submit his claim to the Urban Redevelopment Authority which may, if satisfied that he is lawfully entitled to the money or any part thereof, pay the money or part thereof to that person.

Public Utilities Act 2001 (A8/2001)

With effect from 1 April 2001, the Public Utilities Act 2001 repeals and re-enacts the Public Utilities Act in order to integrate the Sewerage and Drainage Departments of the Ministry of the Environment as part of the Public Utilities Board, restructure the Board as the Water Authority and divest its role as the regulator of the electricity and piped gas industries to another statutory authority. The Act retains with modifications the provisions of the Public Utilities Act relating to the functions, duties and powers of the Board, the water undertaking of the Board and water service workers.

Energy Market Authority of Singapore Act 2001 (A9/2001)

The Energy Market Authority of Singapore Act 2001 establishes and incorporates a new public corporation called the Energy Market Authority of Singapore (the 'Authority') to carry out regulatory functions relating to energy utilities. In particular, the Act provides for the transfer of the property, rights and liabilities of the Regulation Department of the Public Utilities Board to the Authority. The Act also contains provisions relating to the transfer of employees in the Regulation Department and other employees of the Public Utilities Board to the Authority, the protection of their terms and conditions of service or transfer, and certain other consequential and transitional matters. The Energy Market Authority of Singapore Act 2001 is effective from 1 April 2001.

Electricity Act 2001 (A10/2001)

The Electricity Act 2001 provides for a competitive market framework for the electricity industry, and for the safety, technical and economic regulation of the generation, transmission, supply and use of electricity, and for other matters connected therewith, and to repeal the Electrical Workers and Contractors Licensing Act. The Energy Market Authority of Singapore is to administer the Act and exercise the functions and duties imposed on the Authority by the Act. The Electricity Act 2001 is generally effective from 1 April 2001.

New Subsidiary Legislation

Central Provident Fund (Medisave Account Withdrawals) Regulations - Approved Hospitals, Approved Clinics, Approved Centres, etc (S122/2001)

For purposes of withdrawal of savings from the Central Provident Fund Medisave Account, this Notification, effective from 26 February 2001, lists the following:

1. approved hospitals;
2. approved clinics;
3. approved centres;
4. approved community hospitals;
5. approved day hospitals;
6. approved convalescent hospitals;
7. approved hospices;
8. nursing homes; and
9. approved person or party.

Income Tax (Singapore-Portugal) (Avoidance of Double Taxation Agreement) Order 2001(S129/2001)

Singapore and Portugal have entered into a double taxation agreement. The agreement is effective from 16 March 2001. Pursuant to this agreement, dividends paid by a company which is a resident of a contracting state to a resident of the other contracting state may be taxed in that other state. However, such dividend may also be taxed in the contracting state of which the company paying the dividend is a resident, but if the beneficial owner of the dividends is a resident of the other contracting state, the tax shall not exceed 10% of the gross amount of the dividends.

Similarly, interest and royalties arising in a contracting state and paid to a resident of the other contracting state may be taxed in that other state. However, such interest may also be taxed in the contracting state in which it arises, but if the beneficial owner of the interest or royalty (as the case may be) is a resident of the other contracting state, the tax shall not exceed 10% of the gross amount of the interest or royalties.

Elizabeth Wong
Allen & Gledhill