Oral Reply by Senior Minister of State for Transport Dr Amy Khor to Parliamentary Question on Additional Levy on Vehicles

Ms He Ting Ru asked the Minister for Transport 

a.     in each of the last five years, how many requests have been received to waive the additional levy (AL) payable by vehicle owners who transfer their vehicles between the fourth and sixth month from the date of registration; 

b.     how many requests for waiver have been granted; and 

c.     what are the main reasons for such waivers to be granted. 

Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim asked the Minister for Transport whether the Ministry has assessed the effectiveness of the imposition of an additional levy on cars sold between the fourth and sixth month of ownership in discouraging COE speculation. 

Reply by Senior Minister of State for Transport Dr Amy Khor:

1.     Mr Speaker, may I have your permission to answer PQs 20 and 21 on today’s Order Paper? 

2.     Cars registered under Categories A and B of the Certificate of Entitlement (COE) are only allowed to apply for a transfer of vehicle ownership three months after the date of registration. If cars are transferred between four and six months from the date of registration, an Additional Levy (AL) would be payable if the Quota Premium (QP) of the corresponding COE category at the point of transfer is higher than the original QP paid upon successful bidding for a COE. 

3.     The AL is part of a suite of measures to discourage COE speculation, which also includes requiring a bid deposit, and disallowing the transfer of Temporary COE for Categories A and B. 

4.     Over the last five years, The Land Transport Authority (LTA) received, on average, three requests annually to waive the AL payable by the vehicles’ owners. Over the same period, only one request to transfer car ownership from a deceased person to the executor of the deceased estate was acceded to.