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Free Trade Zones Act 1966

2020 REVISED EDITION

This revised edition incorporates all amendments up to and including 1 December 2021 and comes into operation on 31 December 2021

An Act to provide for the establishment of free trade zones in Singapore and the regulation of activities in those free trade zones, and for matters incidental thereto.

[Act 33 of 2023 wef 01/03/2024]

[1 September 1969]

PART 1

PRELIMINARY

Short title

1. This Act is the Free Trade Zones Act 1966.

Interpretation

2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires —

“air cargo agent” means a person who carries on a business that includes handling goods, to be passed to or received from an operator of an aircraft or its representative, for carriage in the aircraft;

[Act 33 of 2023 wef 01/03/2024]

“aircraft” means an aircraft of any description which may be used for the conveyance of persons or goods by air;

[Act 33 of 2023 wef 01/03/2024]

“authority” means any statutory body or department of the Government or company which has been appointed under section 3(2) to administer, maintain and operate any free trade zone which has been so declared under section 3(1);

[Deleted by Act 33 of 2023 wef 01/03/2024]

“conveyance” includes any vessel, train, vehicle or aircraft in which persons or goods can be carried;

[Act 33 of 2023 wef 01/03/2024]

“customs duty” means any customs duty or excise duty imposed under the Customs Act 1960;

[Act 33 of 2023 wef 01/03/2024]

“customs territory” means Singapore and the territorial waters of Singapore but excluding any free trade zone;

“Director-General” means the Director‑General of Customs appointed under section 4(1) of the Customs Act 1960;

“dutiable goods” means any goods subject to the payment of customs duty on entry into customs territory or manufactured in Singapore including any free trade zone and on which customs duty has not been paid and includes goods manufactured in a free trade zone from materials of a class dutiable on entry into customs territory for consumption within the customs territory;

“free trade zone” means any area declared to be a free trade zone under section 3(1);

“free trade zone cargo handler” or “FTZ cargo handler”, in relation to a free trade zone —

(a)	means a person providing any service or facility for the storing, processing or handling of goods at the free trade zone, for any goods being brought into or out of Singapore; and
(b)	includes an FTZ operator of the free trade zone that provides any such service or facility; [Act 33 of 2023 wef 01/03/2024]

“free trade zone operator” or “FTZ operator”, in relation to a free trade zone, means the person who administers, maintains and operates the free trade zone;

[Act 33 of 2023 wef 01/03/2024]

“free trade zone operator licence” or “FTZ operator licence” means a free trade zone operator licence granted under section 14C to administer, maintain and operate a free trade zone specified in the licence;

[Act 33 of 2023 wef 01/03/2024]

“goods” includes animals, birds, fish, plants and all kinds of movable property;

“licensed FTZ operator” means an FTZ operator holding a valid free trade zone operator licence;

[Act 33 of 2023 wef 01/03/2024]

“manufacture”, with its grammatical variations and cognate expressions, means the process of converting materials into a new product or article, whether or not by power-operated machinery, whereby a change in tariff classification has been effected; except that the Director-General may, in his discretion, determine that the result of any manufacture is not a new product or article and a change in tariff classification has not been effected;

“officer of customs”, “proper officer of customs” and “senior officer of customs” have the same meanings as in the Customs Act 1960;

[Act 33 of 2023 wef 01/03/2024]

“shipping agent” means a person who carries on a business that includes handling goods, to be passed to or received from an operator of a vessel or its representative, for carriage in the vessel;

[Act 33 of 2023 wef 01/03/2024]

“tax” means goods and services tax under section 8(4) of the Goods and Services Tax Act 1993;

[Act 33 of 2023 wef 01/03/2024]

“taxable goods” means any goods (including any goods manufactured in a free trade zone) subject to the payment of tax on entry into customs territory pursuant to section 8(4) of the Goods and Services Tax Act 1993, and on which such tax has not been paid;

[Act 33 of 2023 wef 01/03/2024]

“vessel” includes any ship or boat or other description of vessel used in navigation by sea.

[Act 33 of 2023 wef 01/03/2024]

Declaration of free trade zones and appointment of authority

3.—(1) The Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, declare any area in Singapore to be a free trade zone and every such notification shall define the limits of that free trade zone.

(2) The Minister may appoint any statutory body or department of the Government or company as the authority to administer, maintain and operate any free trade zone which has been so declared under subsection (1).

Power of Director-General to administer Act, etc.

4.—(1) The Director-General is responsible for the administration of this Act, subject to the general or special directions of the Minister.

(2) Subject to the general direction and supervision of the Director-General, the Deputy Directors-General of Customs and Assistant Directors-General of Customs appointed under section 4(2) of the Customs Act 1960 have and may exercise all the powers conferred on the Director-General by this Act.

(3) The Director-General may confer on any senior officer of customs appointed under section 4(4) of the Customs Act 1960 all or any of the powers conferred on the Director-General by this Act (except under this subsection), subject to any conditions or restrictions that the Director-General thinks fit.

(4) The Director-General may confer on any officer of customs all or any of the powers of a senior officer of customs under this Act.

[Act 33 of 2023 wef 01/03/2024]