Central Provident Fund (Amendment) Bill

Bill No. 21/1973

Read the first time on 11th July 1973.

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, 1973 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 (hereinafter in this Act referred to as “the principal Act”) is hereby amended by inserting immediately after the definition of “the Fund” appearing therein the following new definition: —

“ “inspector” means an inspector appointed under subsection (1) of section 4A of this Act;”.

Amendment of section 4

3. Section 4 of the principal Act is hereby amended —

(a)	by deleting subsections (10), (11), (12) and (14) thereof; and
(b)	by renumbering subsections (13) and (15) thereof as subsections (10) and (11) respectively.

New section 4A

4. The principal Act is hereby amended by inserting immediately after section 4 thereof the following new section: —

“Appointment of inspectors

4A.—(1) The Board may, with the approval of the Minister, appoint such number of inspectors as it may consider necessary for carrying this Act into effect.

(2) The Commissioner for Labour and any Deputy Commissioner for Labour, Assistant Commissioner for Labour or inspecting officer appointed under the Employment Act (Cap. 122) may exercise any or all of the powers of an inspector.

(3) In the course of an inspection, an inspector may at any reasonable time —

(a)

enter any premises or place where he has reasonable cause to believe that a person is employed therein;

(b)

examine, either alone or in the presence of any other person with respect to any matters under this Act or which he may reasonably require information, any person whom he has reasonable cause to believe to be or to have been an employee or an employer, and require every such person to be examined and for the purposes of such examination may summon any such person to attend at the place and time specified in such summons;

(c)

put questions concerning employees to their employers or to any person who may be in charge of them, or to the employees themselves, or to any other person whom he may consider it desirable to question, and such employers or employees or other person shall be legally bound to answer such questions truthfully to the best of his ability;

(d)

require any employer to produce before him all or any of the employees employed by him together with any contract of service, book of account of salary, register and other document concerning such employees or their employment and to answer such questions relating thereto as he may think proper to ask;

(e)

make copies of any book, document or paper required to be produced under paragraph (d) of this subsection and take possession of such book, document or paper when in his opinion —

(i)	the copying thereof cannot reasonably be performed without taking possession; or
(ii)	the book, document or paper may be tampered with unless possession is taken; or
(iii)	the book, document or paper may be required as evidence in any proceedings for an offence under this Act or in any proceedings for the recovery of any monies due to the Fund.

(4) If any person wilfully delays an inspector or any of the officers referred to in subsection (2) of this section in the exercise of any power under this section, or fails to comply with the requisition of an inspector or an aforesaid officer in pursuance of this section or to produce any record, certificate, notice or document which he is required by or in pursuance of this section to produce, or wilfully withholds any information as to who are the employees of any employer or as to who is the employer of any employee or conceals or prevents or attempts to conceal or prevent, a person from appearing before or being examined by an inspector or an aforesaid officer, that person shall be deemed to obstruct an inspector or an aforesaid officer in the execution of his duties under this Act.

(5) Any person who obstructs an inspector or any of the officers referred to in subsection (2) of this section shall be guilty of an offence.”.

Amendment of section 5

5. Subsection (3) of section 5 of the principal Act is hereby amended by deleting the expression “after and in respect of each year ending on 31st December” appearing in the third and fourth lines thereof and substituting therefor the words “from time to time”.

Amendment of section 6

6. Section 6 of the principal Act is hereby amended —

(a)

by deleting subsections (1) and (2) thereof and substituting therefor the following: —

“(1) Subject to the provisions of section 23 and any of the regulations made under section 29 of this Act every employer of an employee shall pay to the Fund monthly in respect of each employee contributions at the appropriate rates set out in the Schedule to this Act except that the Board may at its discretion and on such terms and conditions as it may impose authorise an employer or a class or classes of employers to pay such contributions at other intervals not exceeding six months.

(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of any written law or any contract to the contrary an employer shall be entitled to recover from the monthly wages of an employee the amount shown in the Schedule to this Act as so recoverable from the employee.

(3) Where any employer who has recovered any amount from the monthly wages of an employee in accordance with subsection (2) of this section fails to pay such contributions to the Fund within such time as may be prescribed he shall be guilty of an offence under this Act and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding seven years or to both such imprisonment and fine.”;

(b)

by deleting subsection (6) thereof and substituting therefor the following: —

“(7) The Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, amend, add to or vary the Schedule to this Act and may prescribe different rates of contributions payable in respect of different types of wages.”;

(c)

by deleting the expression “(3)” appearing in subsections (4) and (5) thereof and substituting therefor in each case the expression “(4)”; and

(d)

by renumbering subsections (3), (4) and (5) thereof as subsections (4), (5) and (6) respectively.

Repeal and re-enactment of section 7

7. Section 7 of the principal Act is hereby repealed and the following substituted therefor: —

“Payment of interest on contributions in arrears

7.—(1) Where the amount of the contributions which an employer is liable to pay under the provisions of section 6 of this Act in respect of any month is not paid within such period as may be prescribed the employer shall be liable to pay interest on such amount for every day such amount remains unpaid commencing from the first day of the month succeeding the month in respect of which such amount is payable and such interest shall be calculated at the rate of one and one-half per cent per month or the sum of five dollars, whichever is the greater.

(2) The Board may in any case in which it thinks fit waive the payment of the whole or part of, or remit in whole or in part, any interest due or paid under subsection (1) of this section.”.

Amendment of section 8

8. Section 8 of the principal Act is hereby amended by deleting the words “in connection with the administration of this Act” appearing in the first and second lines thereof.

Amendment of section 9

9. Section 9 of the principal Act is hereby amended by deleting subsection (2) thereof and substituting therefor the following: —

“(2) As soon as practicable after the end of each financial year the Chairman of the Board shall submit to the Board an account of the revenue and expenditure of the Fund, of contributions received and of withdrawals made and of interest credited to members of the Fund during the preceding financial year together with a statement of the assets and liabilities of the Fund.

(3) The account and statement referred to in subsection (2) of this section together with the report of the Auditor-General or other authorised officer thereon shall be presented to Parliament and published in the Gazette.

(4) The financial year of the Fund shall be determined by the Board.”.

Amendment of section 10

10. Section 10 of the principal Act is hereby amended by deleting subsection (2) thereof and substituting therefor the following: —

“(2) The Board shall cause to be credited to each member of the Fund —

(a)	the amount of every contribution paid to the Fund for him; and
(b)	interest at the rate declared under subsection (3) of section 5 of this Act at such intervals as the Board may prescribe and on the amount standing to his credit in the Fund at such time as the Board may determine.”.

Amendment of section 11

11. Section 11 of the Principal Act is hereby amended —

(a)

by deleting subsection (2) thereof and substituting therefor the following: —

“(2) A member of the Fund, or a committee of his person or of his estate appointed under the provisions of the Mental Disorders and Treatment Act (Cap. 162), shall be entitled to withdraw the sum standing to the credit of such member in the Fund at any time after the Board is satisfied that such member —

(a)	has attained the age of fifty-five years; or
(b)	not being a citizen of Singapore, has left or is about to leave Singapore and the States of Malaya permanently with no intention to return thereto; or
(c)	being a citizen of Malaysia has left or is about to leave Singapore permanently for the States of Malaya in such circumstances as the Minister may approve; or
(d)	is physically or mentally incapacitated from ever continuing in any employment; or
(e)	is found to be of unsound mind.

(3) A member of the Fund who has withdrawn any money from the Fund on the ground that he has attained the age of fifty-five years shall not be entitled to withdraw from the Fund on the same ground more than once in any period of five years unless he satisfies the Board that he has been unemployed throughout the period of six months immediately preceding the date he makes an application for the withdrawal of any sum of money standing to his credit in the Fund.”; and

(b)

by renumbering subsection (3) thereof as subsection (4).

Amendment of section 12

12. Section 12 of the principal Act is hereby amended by deleting the words “the proviso to” appearing in the seventh and eighth lines of subsection (1) thereof.

Amendment of section 14

13. Section 14 of the principal Act is hereby amended by deleting the expression “section 7” appearing in the third line of paragraph (g) thereof and substituting therefor the words “the provisions”.

Repeal and re-enactment of section 17

14. Section 17 of the principal Act is hereby repealed and the following substituted therefor: —

“Penalties

17.—(1) Any person convicted of an offence under this Act for which no penalty is provided shall be liable to a fine not exceeding two thousand five hundred dollars and in the case of a second or subsequent offence to a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars and the court before which such conviction is had may in addition to such fine order him to pay the amount of any contributions together with 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.

(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of any written law to the contrary, a Magistrate’s or District Court shall have the jurisdiction to impose the maximum penalty prescribed for an offence under this Act.”.

New section 18A

15. The principal Act is hereby amended by inserting immediately after section 18 thereof the following new section: —

“Saving for criminal proceedings

18A. The provisions of this Act or of any regulation or rule made thereunder shall be without prejudice to any other proceedings under any other written law.”.

Amendment of section 22

16. Subsection (1) of section 22 of the principal Act is hereby deleted and the following substituted therefor: —

“(1) Whenever a writ of seizure and sale has been issued in execution of a judgment against an employer and any movable or immovable property or other assets belonging to such employer has been seized or sold or otherwise realized in pursuance of such execution, and, prior to the payment of the proceeds of such sale or other realization to an execution creditor, notice has been given to the Sheriff or other officer charged with the execution of the writ by the Board that any sum is due to the Fund, no part of such proceeds shall be paid to an execution creditor, unless and until the court issuing the writ has ascertained and provided for the sum due to the Fund at the date of such sale or other realization.”.

Amendment of section 29

17. Section 29 of the principal Act is hereby amended by deleting paragraph (e) of subsection (1) thereof and substituting therefor the following: —

“(e)

to require such person as the Minister may specify who derives income from any trade, business, profession or vocation, or from any other source or sources as the Minister may prescribe, to contribute to the Fund in respect of such income in such a manner and at such rate as may be prescribed by the Minister;”.

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