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Central Provident Fund (Amendment) Bill

Bill No. 14/1983

Read the first time on 30th August 1983.

An Act to amend the Central Provident Fund Act (Chapter 121 of the Revised Edition).

Be it enacted by the President with the advice and consent of the Parliament of Singapore, as follows:

Short title and commencement

1. This Act may be cited as the Central Provident Fund (Amendment) Act 1983 and shall come into operation on such date as the Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, appoint.

Amendment of section 2

2. Section 2 of the Central Provident Fund Act (referred to in this Act as the principal Act) is amended —

(a)

by inserting, immediately after the definition of “employer”, the following definition:

“ “flat” means a horizontal stratum of any building or part thereof, whether the stratum or part is on one or more levels or is partially or wholly below the surface of the ground;”;

(b)

by inserting, immediately after the definition of “inspector”, the following definitions:

“ “interest in land” means any interest in land recognised as such by law, and includes an estate in land;

“land” includes land, freehold or leasehold, or of whatever tenure, whether or not held apart from the surface, and buildings or parts thereof (whether completed or otherwise and whether divided horizontally, vertically or in any other manner), and tenements and hereditaments, corporeal or incorporeal;”; and

(c)

by inserting, immediately after the definition of “member of the Fund”, the following definition:

“ “residential property” means —

(a)	any estate or interest in land comprising a house or flat which is constructed or to be constructed on land and is permitted to be used pursuant to the Planning Act (Cap. 279) or any other written law as a separate dwelling or is lawfully so used; or
(b)	any undivided share in any estate or interest in land comprising several flats erected thereon which are permitted to be used pursuant to the Planning Act or any other written law as dwellings or are lawfully so used;”.

Repeal and re-enactment of section 14

3. Section 14 of the principal Act is repealed and the following section substituted therefor:

“Charge on residential property to secure repayment of withdrawals from the Fund

14.—(1) Where in accordance with any regulations made under section 45, a member of the Fund has on or after 1st June 1981 withdrawn any money standing to his credit in the Fund for all or any of the following purposes:

(a)

to make payment, either full or partial, towards the purchase of a residential property;

(b)

to repay or to make periodic payments towards the repayment of any loan taken by the member to finance or re-finance the purchase of a residential property;

(c)

to pay any costs, fees or other expenses incurred —

(i)	for the purchase of a residential property;
(ii)	for obtaining a loan to finance or re-finance such purchase; and
(iii)	in connection with withdrawals of any money from the Fund,

there shall be a charge on the member’s estate or interest in the residential property to secure the repayment of the money withdrawn from the Fund including the interest that would have accrued thereto if the withdrawal had not been made; and where the residential property is purchased or owned by the member as a co-purchaser, joint-tenant or tenant-in-common, as the case may be, with one or more persons, the charge shall with the prior written consent of all the co-purchasers or co-owners extend to all their respective estates or interests in the residential property.

(2) A charge under subsection (1) shall extend to all the rights, benefits and interest of the member or the co-purchasers or co-owners, as the case may be, under his or their agreement for sale and purchase of the residential property.

(3) Upon lodgement by the Board with the Registrar of an instrument (which shall be in such form as the Registrar may require) for the purpose of registering or notifying any charge under subsection (1) and the acceptance of the instrument by the Registrar, the Board shall have —

(a)	the power of sale and all other powers relating or incidental thereto as if the Board is a registered mortgagee; and
(b)	the power to sell, assign and dispose of all rights, benefits and interest under the agreement for the sale and purchase of the residential property.

(4) The Registrar shall not be concerned to enquire into the regularity or validity of a charge under subsection (1), and shall, on acceptance of the instrument to register or notify the charge, register or notify the charge in the appropriate register maintained by the Registrar under the Land Titles Act (Cap. 276), the Land Titles (Strata) Act (Cap. 277) or the Registration of Deeds Act (Cap. 281), as the case may be.

(5) Any charge under subsection (1) shall be subject to all statutory rights and charges of any public authority over the residential property and, in the absence of any agreement giving priority to the Board, to all encumbrances registered or notified prior to the date of acceptance by the Registrar of the instrument to register or notify the charge.

(6) Notwithstanding section 70 of the Land Titles Act (Cap. 276) and section 16 of the Registration of Deeds Act (Cap. 281) —

(a)

where further withdrawals from the Fund are authorised by the Board after the registration or notification of any mortgage or charge created in favour of the Board at any time on or after 1st June 1981 or after the acceptance by the Registrar of the instrument lodged under subsection (3) for the purpose of registering or notifying a charge under subsection (1), all such withdrawals shall rank in priority to any other claims as if the withdrawals were made at the date of the creation of the mortgage or charge in favour of the Board; and

(b)

where any further advances have been made by a prior mortgagee or chargee after the Board has given notice in writing of the charge under subsection (1) to the prior mortgagee or chargee or after the acceptance by the Registrar of the instrument to register or notify the charge under subsection (3), such further advances shall not rank in priority to the Board’s charge under subsection (1).

(7) Notwithstanding subsections (1) and (6), advances, interest and other monies secured by a mortgage or charge on a residential property may, with the agreement of the Board and subject to such conditions as the Board may impose, rank in priority or in pari passu to the Board’s charge under subsection (1) or any mortgage or charge created in favour of the Board.

(8) A charge under subsection (1) shall continue in force until all the moneys secured by the charge have been repaid or are no longer required by regulations made under section 45 to be repaid to the Fund in which event the member concerned or any other party having an interest in the residential property shall be entitled to have the charge cancelled.

(9) Subsections (3), (7) and (8) shall apply to all charges under subsection (1) securing the repayment of moneys withdrawn from the Fund on or after 1st June 1981 pursuant to regulations made under section 45.

(10) In this section —

“public authority” means the Government, Collector of Land Revenue, Comptroller of Property Tax, and any other person, corporation or body, authorised or empowered by any written law to attach, sell, or acquire land compulsorily;

“Registrar” means —

(a)	the Registrar of Titles, a Deputy Registrar of Titles or an Assistant Registrar of Titles appointed under the Land Titles Act (Cap. 276); and
(b)	where the occasion requires, the Registrar of Deeds or a Deputy Registrar of Deeds appointed under the Registration of Deeds Act (Cap. 281).

(11) This section shall not apply to any residential property or class of residential properties which the Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, specify.”.

New sections 40A and 40B

4. The principal Act is amended by inserting, immediately after section 40, the following sections:

“Approved employees’ schemes

40A.—(1) If the Board is satisfied that an employer has established a welfare scheme which provides for the payment to his employees of pensions, gratuities or other pecuniary or welfare benefits (referred to in this Act as an approved employees’ scheme), the Board shall certify to that effect and thereupon the amount which such employer shall be liable to contribute to the Fund in respect of any of his employees who has agreed to join such approved employees’ scheme shall be in accordance with such reduced rates as may be prescribed by the Minister for employers who have established approved employees’ schemes and not those rates specified in the Schedule.

(2) The Board may at any time revoke any certificate issued under subsection (1) but without prejudice to anything previously done or omitted to be done by virtue thereof.

(3) An employer who has established a scheme which has been certified as an approved employees’ scheme under subsection (1) shall —

(a)	furnish to the Board such accounts in respect of the scheme, duly audited by an auditor who has been approved as a company auditor under subsection (2) of section 8 of the Companies Act (Cap. 185) as the Board may require;
(b)	comply with the rules of the scheme and pay such contributions in accordance with such scheme within such periods as the rules of the scheme require;
(c)	obtain the prior permission of the Board to the making of any amendment of the rules of the scheme; and
(d)	furnish such returns to the Board as the Board may prescribe concerning employees who are members of or who have ceased to contribute to the scheme.

(4) Any amendment to the rules of any approved employees’ scheme made without the prior permission of the Board shall for the purposes of this Act be void and of no effect.

(5) Subsections (1) and (2) of section 15 shall apply to withdrawals or payments of moneys from any approved employees’ scheme and to the rights of any member acquired under the rules of any approved employees’ scheme and to moneys paid out of any approved employees’ scheme on the death of a member as they do to withdrawals from the Fund and to rights acquired under this Act and to moneys paid out on the death of a member of the Fund.

(6) Subsections (3) and (4) of section 15 shall apply to contributions to any approved employees’ scheme and to interest thereon and to portions of wages paid as contributions to any approved employees’ scheme as they do to contributions to the Fund and to interest thereon and to portions of wages paid as contributions to the Fund.

(7) Any person who fails to comply with subsection (3) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000 and the court before which any person is convicted for failing to pay contributions into any approved employees’ scheme within such period as the rules of the approved employees’ scheme require may, in addition to such fine, order him to pay the amount of any contributions and any interest due thereon certified by an officer appointed by the Board in that behalf to be due from such person at the date of such conviction and such amount may be recovered according to the law for the time being in force for the recovery of fines.

Transfers between approved employees’ schemes and the Fund

40B.—(1) On the death of any employee who was a member of an approved employees’ scheme, the employer concerned shall pay to the Board any moneys (if any) which such employee is entitled to under the approved employees’ scheme and any such moneys so paid to the Board by the employer shall be disposed of by the Board as if such amount were contributions standing to the credit of the member in the Fund at his death.

(2) Where an employee who is a member of an approved employees’ scheme leaves the service of his employer before attaining the age of fifty-five years, the employer concerned shall pay to the Board to be placed to the credit of the employee in the Fund the money (if any) payable to such employee under the approved employees’ scheme on the termination of his employment.”.

Amendment of section 45

5. Subsection (1) of section 45 of the principal Act is amended —

(a)

by deleting paragraph (g) and substituting the following paragraph:

“(g)

to provide for members of the Fund to apply, assign or withdraw all or part of the contributions and interest standing to their credit in the Fund for the purchase of residential properties or to repay any loan taken to finance or re-finance the purchase of residential properties including the payment of costs, fees or other incidental expenses incurred for the purchase of a residential property or for obtaining any loan to finance or re-finance such purchase or in connection with withdrawals of any money from the Fund;”;

(b)

by deleting the word “and” at the end of paragraph (i); and

(c)

by deleting the full-stop at the end of paragraph (j) and substituting the word “; and”, and by inserting immediately thereafter the following paragraph:

“(k)	for the purposes of sections 40A and 40B.”.