REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE
GOVERNMENT GAZETTE
ACTS SUPPLEMENT
Published by Authority

NO. 21]Friday, June 7 [1991

The following Act was passed by Parliament on 7th May 1991 and assented to by the President on 25th May 1991:—
Skills Development Levy (Amendment) Act 1991

(No. 19 of 1991)


I assent.

WEE KIM WEE
President.
25th May 1991.
Date of Commencement: 7th June 1991
An Act to amend the Skills Development Levy Act (Chapter 306 of the 1985 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 Skills Development Levy (Amendment) Act 1991 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 Skills Development Levy Act (referred to in this Act as the principal Act) is amended —
(a)by deleting the definitions of “Comptroller” and “Council”; and
(b)by inserting, immediately before the definition of “employee”, the following definition:
“ “Board” means the National Productivity Board established under the National Productivity Board Act (Cap. 329);”.
Amendment of section 3
3.  Section 3 of the principal Act is amended by inserting, immediately after subsection (3), the following subsection:
(4)  Without prejudice to any other remedy, the levy may be recovered as a debt due to the Government from the person accountable therefor.”.
Repeal of section 5
4.  Section 5 of the principal Act is repealed.
Amendment of section 6
5.  Section 6 of the principal Act is amended —
(a)by deleting the words “which shall be under the control and management of the Minister” in subsection (1);
(b)by deleting the words “recovered for late payment,” in subsection (2) and substituting the words “, fines and costs recovered for proceedings under this Act,”; and
(c)by deleting subsection (3).
Amendment of section 8
6.  Section 8 (2) of the principal Act is amended by deleting the word “Minister” in the first line and substituting the word “Board”.
Repeal and re-enactment of sections 9 and 10, and new section 10A
7.  Sections 9 and 10 of the principal Act are repealed and the following sections substituted therefor:
Administration of Fund
9.—(1)  The Board shall administer the Skills Development Fund established under section 6, including the collection of the skills development levy and the disbursement of grants and loans from the Fund for the purposes of this Act.
(2)  The Board shall have power to do all things necessary or convenient to be done for or in connection with the performance of its functions under this Act.
Delegation of functions of Board and reimbursement
10.—(1)  The Board may, with the approval of the Minister, appoint such agents (including the Government) as may be necessary for the purposes of this Act.
(2)  The Board may, with the approval of the Minister, delegate all or any of its powers and functions under this Act to any employees or agents (including the Government) as they may appoint under subsection (1).
(3)  The Board may pay to any person appointed under subsection (1) a fee, not exceeding such percentage of the total amount of contributions as the Minister may direct, for any services rendered in exercise of any powers and functions delegated to that person under this Act.
(4)  The Board may use moneys from the Fund for all expenses incurred by the Board for the purposes of this Act.
(5)  Any appointment and delegation made under this section shall be published in the Gazette.”.
New section 11A
8.  The principal Act is amended by inserting, immediately before section 12 in Part IV, the following section:
Penalty for false return or information
11A.—(1)  Any person who negligently or without reasonable excuse —
(a)makes a return which is false in any material particulars; or
(b)gives any false information in relation to any matter affecting his own or any other person’s liability to pay the levy,
shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a penalty equal to the amount of the levy due and unpaid and to a fine not exceeding $2,500 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both.
(2)  Any person who wilfully with intent to evade payment of the levy or to aid or abet any other person to evade payment of the levy —
(a)omits from a form or return any remuneration which ought to be included;
(b)gives any false answer, whether verbally or in writing, to any question or request for information asked or made under this Act or any regulations made thereunder;
(c)prepares or maintains or authorises the preparation or maintenance of any false books of account or other records or falsifies or authorises the falsification of any books of account or records,
shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a penalty equal to double the amount of the levy due and unpaid and to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or to both.
(3)  For the purposes of this section, where it is proved that any false statement is made in any return by or on behalf of any employer, or in any payroll register, books of account or other records maintained by or on behalf of any employer, that employer, or person answerable for the employer, shall be presumed, until the contrary is proved, to have made that false statement with intent to evade payment of the levy.
(4)  For the purposes of this section, “levy due and unpaid” means the levy that is due and unpaid at the time when the offence is committed.
(5)  The institution of proceedings for or the imposition of a penalty, fine or term of imprisonment under this section shall not relieve any employer from liability to pay any levy for which he is or may be liable.”.
Amendment of section 12
9.  Section 12 (2) of the principal Act is amended by deleting the words “subsection (1)” in the first line and substituting the words “this Act”.
Repeal and re-enactment of sections 14 and 15, and new sections 16 to 23
10.  Sections 14 and 15 of the principal Act are repealed and the following sections substituted therefor:
Power to compound
14.—(1)  The Board may abate any penalty or compound any offence under this Act or any regulations made thereunder by accepting from the person who is reasonably suspected of having committed the offence a sum not exceeding $500.
(2)  All sums received for the composition of any offence under this section shall be paid into the Fund.
Sanction of Public Prosecutor
15.  No court shall take cognizance of any offence under this Act or any regulations made thereunder except with the sanction of the Public Prosecutor.
Application of Financial Procedure Act
16.  The members, employees and agents of the Board shall, in relation to the administration of the Fund, be deemed to be public officers for the purposes of the Financial Procedure Act (Cap. 109) and section 20 of that Act shall apply to such persons notwithstanding that they are not or were not in the employment of the Government.
Financial statements
17.—(1)  The Board shall, as soon as practicable but not later than 30th June in every year, prepare and submit the financial statements relating to the Fund in respect of the preceding financial year of the Board to the Auditor-General who shall audit and report on them.
(2)  As soon as the financial statements have been audited by the Auditor-General, a copy of the audited financial statements and the report of the Auditor-General shall be submitted to the Minister.
(3)  The Minister shall as soon as practicable cause a copy of the audited financial statements and of the report of the Auditor-General to be presented to Parliament.
Annual report
18.—(1)  The Board shall, as soon as possible but not later than 30th September of each year, submit to the Minister an annual report in respect of the administration of the Fund by the Board during that year, and the Minister shall present a copy of every such report to Parliament.
(2)  Notwithstanding subsection (1), the Minister may at any time request the Board to furnish him with any information concerning any matter relating to the administration of the Fund by the Board, and the Board shall furnish him with the information required, and afford him or his representative all necessary facilities for the verification of the information required.
Directions by Minister
19.—(1)  The Minister may give to the Board such directions, not inconsistent with this Act, as he thinks fit as to the administration of the Fund and the Board shall give effect to such directions.
(2)  The annual report for any financial year shall set out any directions given by the Minister under subsection (1) and shall contain a report of any action taken by the Board during that financial year consequent on the directions.
Preservation of secrecy
20.—(1)  Except for the purpose of the performance of his duties or the exercise of his functions or when lawfully required to do so by any court or under the provisions of any written law, no person who is or has been a member, employee or agent of the Board shall disclose to any person any information relating to the affairs of the Board or of any person which he has acquired in the performance of his duties or the exercise of his functions.
(2)  Any person who contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $2,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or to both.
Public servants
21.  The members, employees and agents of the Board shall be deemed to be public servants within the meaning of the Penal Code (Cap. 224).
Priority of case in winding up
22.  There shall be included among the taxes which, under section 328 of the Companies Act (Cap. 50), are to be paid in priority to all other unsecured debts in a winding up of a company, the amount of any levy due from the company and having become due within 12 months before the date of commencement of the winding up.
Regulations
23.  The Minister may make such regulations as are necessary or expedient for carrying out the provisions of this Act and, in particular, the minister may make regulations to provide for all or any of the matters specified in the Schedule.”.
Repeal and re-enactment of Schedule
11.  The Schedule to the principal Act is repealed and the following Schedule substituted therefor:
THE SCHEDULE
Section 23.
Matters in Respect of Which Minister May Make Regulations
1.  Requiring employers to give notice of their liability to pay the levy and the manner in which the notice shall be given.
2.  The manner in which the levy is to be paid and collected and the manner in which the levy when paid and collected shall be accounted for.
3.  The manner in which the levy due and unpaid are to be assessed and collected.
4.  The keeping by employers liable to pay the levy of payroll records, receipts of contributions and such other documents as may seem necessary, and the preservation of the same.
5.  The disclosure and making of returns to persons authorised by the Board of such information as may be required for the ascertainment and assessment of liability to pay contributions.
6.  The production to and inspection and removal by persons authorised by the Board of accounts, payroll records, books, receipts and other records for the purpose of satisfying themselves as to whether the levy has been duly paid.
7.  The refund of any levy paid in excess of the amount required by this Act.
8.  Matters consequential on the death of an employer, his becoming bankrupt or subject to any incapacity or (where the employer is a company) its winding up, in relation to any unpaid levy.
9.  The remission of any levy.
10.  The purposes for which moneys of the Fund may be applied.
11.  The production to and inspection and removal by persons authorised by the Board of accounts, books, receipts and other records for the purpose of satisfying them as to whether grants or loans from the Fund have been properly applied by persons obtaining such grants or loans.
12.  Making any act or omission in contravention of any regulations made under this Act an offence and prescribing penalties for such offences which may consist of a fine not exceeding $5,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or both.
13.  The imposition of penalties (such penalties, if unpaid, to be recoverable as a debt due to the Board) to be paid by an employer for late payment of the levy.
14.  The manner of the service of notices for the purposes of this Act.”.