No. S 384
Property Tax Act
(Chapter 254)
Property Tax (Tax Deferral for Land Approved for Development) Regulations 2009
In exercise of the powers conferred by sections 6(3) and 72(1)(i) of the Property Tax Act, the Minister for Finance hereby makes the following Regulations:
Citation and commencement
1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Property Tax (Tax Deferral for Land Approved for Development) Regulations 2009 and shall be deemed to have come into operation on 22nd January 2009.
Definitions
2.  In these Regulations —
“applicant” means an owner of any qualifying land who applies under regulation 4 to the Comptroller to defer payment of tax for the qualifying land in respect of a period of deferral;
“CSC” means a certificate of statutory completion in respect of a building issued under section 12(1) of the Building Control Act (Cap. 29) and, where more than one CSC is issued in respect of a building, means the first CSC so issued;
“deferred tax” means the tax for any qualifying land in respect of the period of deferral, payment of which has been deferred pursuant to a grant of such deferral by the Comptroller under regulation 5;
“development permission” means —
(a)any written permission under section 12 of the Planning Act (Cap. 232) for the development of any land; or
(b)any provisional permission under section 17 of the Planning Act for the development of any land;
“owner” means an owner as defined in section 2(1) of the Act but does not include any owner that is an individual or an association or a body of persons;
“period of deferral” means the period starting on a date specified in Part I of the Schedule and ending on a date specified in Part II thereof;
“qualifying land” means any land, being vacant land or land assessed under section 2(3)(b) of the Act —
(a)which has been approved for development under the Planning Act; and
(b)for which valid development permission is in force at the time the application to defer payment of tax is made;
“tax” includes any payment made in lieu of tax under section 6(11) of the Act;
“TOP” means the temporary occupation permit granted under section 12(3) of the Building Control Act in respect of a building and, where more than one TOP is issued in respect of a building, means the first TOP so issued.
Deferral of payment of tax for period of deferral
3.  Payment of tax for any qualifying land in respect of a period of deferral may be deferred in accordance with these Regulations.
Application for tax deferral
4.—(1)  An owner of any qualifying land who wishes to defer the payment of tax for that land in respect of a period of deferral shall make an application to the Comptroller for the tax deferral in such form as the Comptroller may specify.
(2)  The owner shall, for the purposes of his application, furnish to the Comptroller such other information at such time as the Comptroller may require.
Grant or refusal of tax deferral
5.—(1)  Upon receipt of an application to defer the payment of tax made under regulation 4, the Comptroller shall consider the application and may grant the tax deferral or refuse to grant the tax deferral.
(2)  Where the Comptroller grants the tax deferral, tax for the qualifying lands in respect of the period of deferral shall be paid in accordance with regulation 8.
Tax deferral for qualifying land developed in phases
6.—(1)  Where any qualifying land is developed in phases, each phase of the development shall be treated as if it were a separate piece of qualifying land, and the Comptroller shall, subject to paragraph (3), grant separate tax deferrals for each phase.
(2)  The Comptroller may apportion the annual value of the land for each phase of its development for the purpose of any tax deferral under paragraph (1).
(3)  Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the Comptroller may require an applicant to apply for, and may grant, a tax deferral in respect of the entire qualifying land.
Notification of certain circumstances
7.  Where an applicant has been granted a tax deferral under regulation 5 in respect of any qualifying land and his period of deferral expires because of —
(a)the issue of the first TOP or first CSC in respect of any building constructed on the qualifying land;
(b)the applicant going into liquidation, insolvency or bankruptcy, as the case may be; or
(c)the applicant selling or transferring the qualifying land,
the applicant shall notify the Comptroller in writing of the expiry of the period of deferral within 30 days after such expiry.
Payment of deferred tax
8.—(1)  An applicant who has been granted a tax deferral under regulation 5 shall pay the full amount of the deferred tax as follows:
(a)where the period of deferral expires before 21st January 2011, within one month after the expiry; and
(b)where the period of deferral expires on 21st January 2011, no later than 31st January 2011.
(2)  Notwithstanding anything in paragraph (1)(a) and (b), the tax for the period of deferral may be paid in instalments for a period of up to 12 months at no interest as may be permitted by the Comptroller, in his discretion, pursuant to section 37 of the Act.
(3)  For the avoidance of doubt, where the applicant fails to pay the deferred tax in accordance with paragraph (1) or (2), whether in whole or in part, section 36(1) of the Act shall apply.

Made this 24th day of August 2009.

TEO MING KIAN
Permanent Secretary,
Ministry of Finance,
Singapore.
[MOF R50.003.0002 V14; AG/LEG/SL/254/2002/2 Vol. 1]