No. S 189
Income Tax Act
(Chapter 134)
Income Tax (Concessionary Rate of Tax for Approved Global Trading Companies) (Amendment) Regulations 2008
In exercise of the powers conferred by section 43P of the Income Tax Act, the Minister for Finance hereby makes the following Regulations:
Citation and commencement
1.  —(1)  These Regulations may be cited as the Income Tax (Concessionary Rate of Tax for Approved Global Trading Companies) (Amendment) Regulations 2008.
(2)  Regulations 2(c) and (j) and 4(d) shall be deemed to have come into operation on 26th May 2005.
(3)  Regulation 2(e) (in relation to paragraph (i) of the definition of “physical trading”) and (h) shall be deemed to have come into operation on 1st July 2006.
(4)  Regulations 2(a), (b) (in relation to paragraph (ix) of the definition of “commodity futures trading”), (e) (in relation to paragraph (h) of the definition of “physical trading”) and (i), 3(a) and (d), 4(c) and 6 shall be deemed to have come into effect for the year of assessment 2006 and subsequent years of assessment.
Amendment of regulation 2
2.  Regulation 2 of the Income Tax (Concessionary Rate of Tax for Approved Global Trading Companies) Regulations 2003 (G.N. No. S 204/2003) (referred to in these Regulations as the principal Regulations) is amended —
(a)by inserting, immediately before the definition of “approved commodity exchange”, the following definition:
“ “approved commodity derivatives trading company” means an approved commodity derivatives trading company referred to in section 43S of the Act;”;
(b)by deleting the definition of “commodity futures trading” and substituting the following definition:
“ “commodity futures trading” means trading in commodity futures contracts or options in any commodity —
(a)if the income is derived before the basis period relating to the year of assessment 2006 or after the basis period relating to the year of assessment 2010, on any exchange specified in the Second Schedule or on any approved commodity exchange; or
(b)if the income is derived at any time between the beginning of the basis period relating to the year of assessment 2006 and the end of the basis period relating to the year of assessment 2010, on any exchange,
carried out by an approved global trading company in accordance with the rules and regulations or customs and practices of that exchange with —
(i)a person who is neither a resident of nor a permanent establishment in Singapore;
(ii)a branch office outside Singapore of a company resident in Singapore;
(iii)an Asian Currency Unit of a financial institution;
(iv)a futures member of the Singapore Exchange;
(v)a member of the Singapore Commodity Exchange;
(vi)an approved oil trading company;
(vii)an approved international commodity trading company;
(viii)another approved global trading company; or
(ix)an approved commodity derivatives trading company;”;
(c)by inserting, immediately after the definition of “commodity futures trading”, the following definitions:
“ “exchange-traded freight derivatives” means derivatives that are transacted on an exchange, the payoffs of which are linked wholly to the payoffs or performance of the underlying freight rates;
“over the counter freight derivatives” means derivatives that are transacted over the counter, the payoffs of which are linked wholly to the payoffs or performance of the underlying freight rates;”;
(d)by deleting the word “or” at the end of paragraph (f) of the definition of “physical trading”;
(e)by deleting the comma at the end of paragraph (g) of the definition of “physical trading” and substituting a semi-colon, and by inserting immediately thereafter the following paragraphs:
(h)an approved commodity derivatives trading company; or
(i)a company in Singapore which is approved on or after 1st July 2006 by the Minister or such person as he may appoint,”;
(f)by deleting the word “and” at the end of paragraph (i) of the definition of “physical trading”;
(g)by inserting, at the end of paragraph (ii) of the definition of “physical trading”, the word “and”;
(h)by inserting, immediately after paragraph (ii) of the definition of “physical trading”, the following paragraph:
(iii)any transaction in which the commodity is both purchased from and sold to any company in Singapore, being a company which is approved on or after 1st July 2006 by the Minister or such person as he may appoint;”;
(i)by deleting the definition of “qualifying transaction” and substituting the following definition:
“ “qualifying transaction” means any of the following transactions:
(a)physical trading;
(b)commodity futures trading;
(c)over the counter hedging transaction,
that is carried out by an approved global trading company —
(i)if the transaction was carried out before the basis period relating to the year of assessment 2006, in a currency other than Singapore dollar; or
(ii)if the transaction is carried out in or after the basis period relating to the year of assessment 2006, in any currency;”; and
(j)by inserting, immediately after the definition of “qualifying transaction”, the following definition:
“ “shipping enterprise” has the same meaning as in section 13A of the Act.”.
Amendment of regulation 4
3.  Regulation 4(1) of the principal Regulations is amended —
(a)by deleting the words “specified in the Second Schedule or on any approved commodity exchange”;
(b)by inserting, immediately after the words “the transaction” in sub-paragraph (b), the words “, if it is one carried out in the basis period relating to any year of assessment before the year of assessment 2007,”;
(c)by deleting the word “or” at the end of sub-paragraph (c)(vi); and
(d)by deleting the full-stop at the end of sub-paragraph (vii) of sub-paragraph (c) and substituting the word “; or”, and by inserting immediately thereafter the following sub-paragraph:
(viii)an approved commodity derivatives trading company.”.
Amendment of regulation 5
4.  Regulation 5 of the principal Regulations is amended
(a)by deleting the word “and” at the end of paragraph (1)(a);
(b)by deleting the word “or” at the end of paragraph (1)(b)(v);
(c)by deleting the full-stop at the end of sub-paragraph (vi) of paragraph (1)(b) and substituting the word “; or”, and by inserting immediately thereafter the following sub-paragraph:
(vii)an approved commodity derivatives trading company; and”;
(d)by inserting, immediately after sub-paragraph (b) of paragraph (1), the following sub-paragraph:
(c)income derived —
(i)on or after 26th May 2005, from trading in over the counter freight derivatives; or
(ii)on or after 26th May 2005 up to the basis period relating to the year of assessment 2010, from trading in exchange-traded freight derivatives,
with any of the following persons:
(A)a person who is neither a resident of nor a permanent establishment in Singapore;
(B)a branch office outside Singapore of a company resident in Singapore;
(C)an Asian Currency Unit of a financial institution;
(D)an approved oil trading company;
(E)an approved international commodity trading company;
(F)another approved global trading company;
(G)a person who carries on the business of refining petroleum in Singapore;
(H)an approved commodity derivatives trading company;
(I)a shipping enterprise.”;
(e)by inserting, immediately after paragraph (1), the following paragraph:
(1A)  Subject to paragraph (2), tax shall be payable at the rate of 5% on any income referred to in paragraph (1) of an approved global trading company which satisfies the conditions imposed by the Minister or such person as he may appoint.”; and
(f)by deleting the words “Paragraph (1)” in paragraph (2) and substituting the words “Paragraphs (1) and (1A)”.
Amendment of regulation 6
5.  Regulation 6 of the principal Regulations is amended —
(a)by deleting the words “section 37 of” in paragraph (1)(b); and
(b)by deleting sub-paragraph (b) of paragraph (2) and substituting the following sub-paragraph:
(b)where the income determined is in relation to any period before the basis period for the year of assessment 2003, the reference to section 23 of the Act shall be read as a reference to section 23 of the Act in force immediately before the basis period for the year of assessment 2003.”.
Amendment of Second Schedule
6.  The Second Schedule to the principal Regulations is amended by deleting the schedule reference and substituting the following schedule reference:
Regulation 2”.

Made this 27th day of March 2008.

TEO MING KIAN
Permanent Secretary,
Ministry of Finance,
Singapore.
[MF(R) 32.18.35 V21; AG/LEG/SL/134/2005/11 Vol. 1]