PART 1 | Short title and commencement |
| 1. This Act is the Land Betterment Charge Act 2021 and comes into operation on a date that the Minister appoints by notification in the Gazette. |
2.—(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires —| “appointed day” means the date of commencement of section 6; |
“authorised development”, for any land, means a development of the land —| (a) | authorised under —| (i) | the Planning Act 1998; | | (ii) | the predecessor Act; or | | (iii) | any other written law on planning and land use, which has been at any time in force in Singapore and corresponds to the Planning Act 1998; or |
| | (b) | effected or carried out pursuant to any written approval granted under any written law mentioned in paragraph (a)(iii) before 1 February 1960, |
| and includes a development of any land that is deemed authorised without express written permission; |
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| “authorised officer”, in relation to any provision of this Act or its subsidiary legislation, means an individual who is appointed as an authorised officer under section 50(1) for the purposes of that provision; |
| “Authority” means the public authority called the Singapore Land Authority established by the Singapore Land Authority Act 2001; |
| “building” includes a structure and a part of a building; |
| “chargeable consent” has the meaning given by section 3; |
“charitable institution” means —| (a) | a charity; | | (b) | a trust of which all the beneficiaries are charities; or | | (c) | a unit trust scheme in which all the unit holders are charities; |
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| “charitable purposes” and “charity” have the meanings given by section 2(1) of the Charities Act 1994; |
| “Chief Valuer” means the Chief Valuer appointed under section 2A of the State Lands Act 1920, and includes any individual authorised by the Chief Valuer to perform the functions, or otherwise act on behalf, of the Chief Valuer under this Act; |
| “competent authority” means any competent authority appointed under section 5 of the Planning Act 1998 to be responsible for the operation of Part 3 of that Act, and includes any individual authorised under section 5(2) of that Act to perform any of those functions conferred on the competent authority; |
“concessional State title” means a State title for any land that —| (a) | is granted with a restrictive covenant binding the owner of the land to refrain from using the land in a particular way, or from developing that land to an intensity —| (i) | that is lower than the maximum use or maximum intensity allowed under the provisions of the Master Plan in force at the time of granting; or | | (ii) | where the provisions of the Master Plan in force at the time of granting do not prescribe any use or maximum intensity allowed for that land; and |
| | (b) | contains an express term binding the owner of the land under the State title to pay the Government, and entitling the Government to demand, an additional premium for the land, if the land is —| (i) | developed by or on behalf of the owner beyond a particular intensity specified in the State title; or | | (ii) | otherwise used by or on behalf of the owner in a particular way (such as but not limited to strata subdivision) specified in the State title; |
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| “conduct” means any act or omission, or any series of acts or omissions, or both; |
| “conservation area” has the meaning given by section 2 of the Planning Act 1998; |
| “conservation permission” means permission required by section 12(2) of the Planning Act 1998 to carry out or permit the carrying out of any works within a conservation area; |
“controlled activity”, for any land that is the subject of a State title, means any of the following conduct:| (a) | to keep and maintain the composition of individuals who may be licensed or otherwise allowed by an owner of the land to enter and use the land according to a composition described in the State title; | | (b) | to be or not be a corporation or partnership or an unincorporated association the members of which are of a composition described in the State title; | | (c) | to be or not be a corporation or partnership or an unincorporated association the officers of which are of a composition described in the State title; |
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| “controlled activity restrictive covenant”, for any land, means a restrictive covenant expressed in a State title for the land, binding the owner of the land under the State title to carry on or not to carry on any controlled activity described in the State title; |
| “deemed authorised without express written permission” means a development authorised by notification in the Gazette made under section 21(6) of the Planning Act 1998; |
| “deferment determination” means a determination made under section 20 and that is in force, and includes so much of a deferment determination that is in force after it is cancelled in part; |
| “designated valuer” means the Chief Valuer or an individual appointed under section 10(2); |
| “development” has the meaning given by section 3 of the Planning Act 1998; |
| “development control restrictive covenant”, for any land, means a restrictive covenant expressed in a State title for the land, binding the owner of the land under the State title to not carry out any development of the land described in the State title, being a development which does not involve any subdivision of the land; |
| “directly allotted State title” means a State title granted for consideration without a tender or an auction; |
| “engage in conduct” means to do an act or omit to do an act; |
| “functions” includes powers and duties; |
| “its subsidiary legislation” means any Regulations, order or other subsidiary legislation made under this Act; |
“land” means —| (a) | the surface of any defined parcel of the earth in Singapore; | | (b) | any parcel of airspace or subterranean space within Singapore, whether or not held apart from the surface of the earth in Singapore; or | | (c) | any foreshore in Singapore, |
| and includes a space of any shape below, on or above the surface of the earth, or partly below and partly above the surface of the earth, in Singapore the dimensions of which are delineated; |
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| “land betterment charge” means the tax imposed under section 6 and calculated in the manner fixed by or under this Act; |
| “Land Planning Minister” means the Minister charged with the responsibility for land and urban development; |
| “liability order” means a liability order given under section 25 and that has effect; |
| “limited liability partnership” has the meaning given by the Limited Liability Partnerships Act 2005; |
| “Master Plan” has the meaning given by the Planning Act 1998 and includes any Certified Interpretation Plan prepared and certified by the competent authority under section 7 of that Act; |
| “material interest” has the meaning given by section 4; |
| “occupier”, for any land, includes any person in actual occupation of the land or any person having the charge, management or control of the land either on the person’s own account or as an agent of another person, but does not include a lodger; |
“officer” —| (a) | in relation to a corporation, means any director, partner, chief executive, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the corporation, and includes —| (i) | any person purporting to act in any such capacity; and | | (ii) | for a corporation whose affairs are managed by its members, any of those members as if the member were a director of the corporation; and |
| | (b) | in relation to an unincorporated association (other than a partnership), means the president, the secretary, or any member of the committee of the unincorporated association, and includes —| (i) | any person holding a position analogous to that of president, secretary or member of a committee of the unincorporated association; and | | (ii) | any person purporting to act in any such capacity; |
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| “partner” includes a person purporting to act as a partner; |
| “penalty tax” means the penalty tax imposed under Division 2 of Part 6; |
| “planning permission” means permission required by section 12(1) of the Planning Act 1998 to carry out or permit the carrying out of any development of any land outside a conservation area; |
| “predecessor Act”, in relation to the Planning Act 1998, means the Planning Act (Cap. 232, 1990 Ed.) repealed by the Planning Act 1998; |
| “provisional permission” means provisional permission granted under section 17(1) of the Planning Act 1998; |
| “public authority” means a body established by or under any public Act to perform a public function; |
| “rectification order” means a rectification order given under section 40; |
| “Regulations” means any regulations made by the Authority under section 64, or by the Minister under section 65; |
| “relevant point in time” has the meaning given by section 8(3) and (4); |
“restrictive covenant” means a reservation, restriction, covenant, an easement or a right in the nature of an easement, that is expressed in a State title for any land, and binding the owner of the land under the State title —| (a) | to refrain from using the land subject to the State title in a particular way, or from doing a particular thing in relation to that land; | | (b) | to not sublet, subdivide or otherwise deal with the land, or part of the land, without the permission of the Authority; or | | (c) | to construct, replace or maintain, or limit the type, style or proportion of building materials that may be used in the construction, replacement or maintenance of, any building on that land, |
| and includes a controlled activity restrictive covenant, but excludes any reservation, restriction, covenant, easement or right in the nature of an easement in a State title that is imposed or created by or under the provisions of an Act; |
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| “revised liability order” has the meaning given by section 27; |
| “special condition” means a reservation, restriction or covenant expressed in a directly allotted State title, requiring the initial owner of the land that is the subject of the State title to refrain from abandoning or changing the use of the land in a particular way, failing which the lessor is entitled to demand the surrender of the land; |
“State title” means any of the following issued or granted (whenever) in respect of land by or on behalf of the Crown or the East India Company, or under the State Lands Act 1920 or any written law repealed by that Act:| (a) | any grant in fee simple; | | (b) | any grant of an estate in perpetuity; | | (c) | any State lease (of whatever tenure), |
| but excludes any tenancy or like agreement for a term of less than 10 years, and any temporary occupation licence, in respect of land; |
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| “strata subdivision” has the meaning given by section 3(1) of the Land Titles (Strata) Act 1967; |
| “subdivision”, for any land, means the division of the land into 2 or more parts which can be conveyed, assigned, transferred, subleased or otherwise disposed of, and includes a strata subdivision of any building after completion of the building comprised in a development of the land; |
| “subdivision control restrictive covenant”, for any land, means a restrictive covenant expressed in a State title for the land, binding the owner of the land under the State title to not carry out any subdivision of the land described in the State title, with or without involving any development of the land; |
| “Table of Rates method” has the meaning given by section 11; |
| “taxable person” means a person who may be liable under section 15(1) for a land betterment charge; |
“trustee” includes, in addition to every person appointed or constituted trustee by act of parties, by order or declaration of a court or by operation of law, any of the following:| (a) | an executor or administrator, a guardian, committee, receiver or liquidator; | | (b) | every person having or taking upon himself, herself or itself the administration or control of land affected by any express or implied trust or acting in any fiduciary capacity, or having the possession, control or management of land of a person under legal or other disability; |
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| “unincorporated association” means a society or body unincorporate which, under any written law, may sue or be sued, or hold property, in the name of an officer of the society or body duly appointed for that purpose; |
| “valuation”, in relation to land, means a determination of an amount that is the value of the land made in accordance with the provisions of this Act; |
| “Valuation method” has the meaning given by section 10; |
| “vary”, in relation to a restrictive covenant, includes to extinguish the restrictive covenant; |
| “written permission” means a planning permission or conservation permission. |
(2) In this Act —| “Charities Act 1994” includes the Charities Act (Cap. 37, 2007 Ed.) until it is revised and citable by the short title “the Charities Act 1994”; |
| “Criminal Procedure Code 2010” includes the Criminal Procedure Code (Cap. 68, 2012 Ed.) until it is revised and citable by the short title “the Criminal Procedure Code 2010”; |
| “Interpretation Act 1965” includes the Interpretation Act (Cap. 1, 2002 Ed.) until it is revised and citable by the short title “the Interpretation Act 1965”; |
| “Land Titles (Strata) Act 1967” includes the Land Titles (Strata) Act (Cap. 158, 2009 Ed.) until it is revised and citable by the short title “the Land Titles (Strata) Act 1967”; |
| “Limited Liability Partnerships Act 2005” includes the Limited Liability Partnerships Act (Cap. 163A, 2006 Ed.) until it is revised and citable by the short title “the Limited Liability Partnerships Act 2005”; |
| “Penal Code 1871” includes the Penal Code (Cap. 224, 2008 Ed.) until it is revised and citable by the short title “the Penal Code 1871”; |
| “Planning Act 1998” includes the Planning Act (Cap. 232, 1998 Ed.) until it is revised and citable by the short title “the Planning Act 1998”; |
| “Singapore Land Authority Act 2001” includes the Singapore Land Authority Act (Cap. 301, 2002 Ed.) until it is revised and citable by the short title “the Singapore Land Authority Act 2001”; |
| “State Lands Act 1920” includes the State Lands Act (Cap. 314, 1996 Ed.) until it is revised and citable by the short title “the State Lands Act 1920”. |
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| Meaning of “chargeable consent” |
3.—(1) In this Act, a reference to “chargeable consent” in relation to any land is a reference to —| (a) | the grant, on or after the appointed day, of a planning permission or conservation permission in relation to the land, as a result of which a person is entitled to carry out a development of the land; | | (b) | a varying by the Authority, on or after the appointed day, of any of the following restrictive covenants in a State title or a concessional State title relating to the land:| (i) | a development control restrictive covenant, as a result of which a person is entitled to carry out a development of the land without any subdivision of the land that is the subject of the development control restrictive covenant; | | (ii) | a subdivision control restrictive covenant, as a result of which a person is entitled to carry out a subdivision of the land (with or without any development of the land) that is the subject of the subdivision control restrictive covenant; | | (iii) | a controlled activity restrictive covenant, as a result of which a person is entitled to carry on or not carry on, or to stop carrying on, a controlled activity that is the subject of the controlled activity restrictive covenant; or |
| | (c) | the accepting of a lodgment, on or after the appointed day, of any plans for a development of the land deemed authorised without express written permission. |
(2) A chargeable consent by way of varying a restrictive covenant in a State title relating to land must not be regarded as given until —| (a) | the date of the deed of release, or the date a contract or an agreement, for varying the restrictive covenant is entered into between the Authority and the owner of the land, whichever date is earlier; | | (b) | where the deed of release, or the contract or agreement, for varying the restrictive covenant is undated, the date on which the deed, contract or agreement is executed by the Authority, whichever date is earliest; or | | (c) | where the deed of release, or the contract or agreement, for varying the restrictive covenant is subject to any condition precedent for the variation to take effect, the date when all those conditions are satisfied. |
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(3) However, where a person is not entitled to carry out a development of any land except as a result of more than one of the following events:| (a) | a varying of a restrictive covenant in a State title relating to the land and the restrictive covenant is not any of those mentioned in subsection (4)(a); | | (b) | the grant of a planning permission or conservation permission in relation to the land; | | (c) | the accepting of a lodgment of any plans for a development of the land deemed authorised without express written permission, |
| then despite subsections (1) and (2), a chargeable consent must be regarded as given in relation to the development of the land upon the happening of the earliest of those events, and all other subsequent chargeable consents must be disregarded for the purposes of this Act. |
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(4) Where a person is not entitled to carry out a development of any land except as a result of more than one of the following events:| (a) | a varying of any of the following restrictive covenants in a State title relating to the land:| (i) | a special condition in a directly allotted State title relating to the land; | | (ii) | a restrictive covenant in a concessional State title relating to the land; | | (iii) | a controlled activity restrictive covenant in a State title relating to the land; | | (iv) | a subdivision control restrictive covenant in a State title relating to the land; |
| | (b) | the grant of a planning permission or conservation permission in relation to the land; | | (c) | the accepting of a lodgment of any plans for a development of the land deemed authorised without express written permission, |
| then despite subsections (1) and (2), only the varying of a restrictive covenant mentioned in paragraph (a) is regarded as the giving of chargeable consent in relation to the development of the land, and the happening of events in paragraphs (b) and (c) must be disregarded for the purposes of this Act. |
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| Meanings of “material interest” and “owner” |
4.—(1) For the purposes of this Act, a person is not an owner of any land unless the person has a material interest in the land.(2) Subject to subsection (3), a “material interest” in any land means a legal interest in the land which is —| (a) | an estate in fee simple; | | (b) | an estate in perpetuity; | | (c) | a leasehold estate under a State title of whatever tenure; or | | (d) | subject to subsection (3), an interest in the land entitling the person to receive rent of the land (whether on the person’s own account or as trustee for any other person or as a receiver) —| (i) | if the land is let to a tenant for more than 10 years; or | | (ii) | if the land is in fact let for more than 10 years, |
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| and includes a mortgagee in possession. |
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(3) For the purposes of subsection (2) —| (a) | the fact that the term of a lease may be extended pursuant to an option exercisable wholly at the lessee’s discretion must be taken into consideration in determining whether the term of the lease exceeds any periods specified in subsection (2)(d); and | | (b) | the fact that a lease for a specified period of time is determinable on the happening of an event within that time must not be taken into consideration in determining the term of the lease. |
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| (4) For the purposes of this Act, a person must not be regarded as having a material interest in any land by reason only that the person has purchased, from a developer of a development for which planning permission is granted for strata division after completion of any building comprised in the development, an estate or interest in a lot or proposed lot in the development before that completion. |
| (5) In subsection (4), “developer” means the person for whom or on whose behalf any development of land is carried out. |
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5. The purpose of this Act is to define and impose a tax on the increase in the value of land resulting from a chargeable consent given in relation to the land —| (a) | that ensures the return to the community of an appropriate proportion of economic benefits from the grant of rights to develop or otherwise use land; | | (b) | that affords certainty and transparency through rules and processes for calculating most land betterment charges that refer to fixed rates or formulae without need for valuation; | | (c) | that would promote land development activity in Singapore and support outcomes which accord with the land planning and urban development system and productivity enhancement measures for the construction industry in Singapore; and | | (d) | that will promote or encourage environmentally sustainable development or use of land that balances the interests of current and future generations in Singapore. |
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