Written Reply by Minister for Transport Ong Ye Kung to Parliamentary Question on Extension of COE Renewal in Light of COVID-19 Crisis

Mr Christopher de Souza asked the Minister for Transport whether the Ministry will consider allowing car owners to renew their COE for a subsequent five years at the 15-year mark even if they had previously opted for a five-year renewal at the 10-year mark, given the unprecedented nature of the COVID-19 crisis.

Reply by Minister for Transport Ong Ye Kung:

1.     All Certificates of Entitlement (COEs) are meant to be valid for 10 years. Hence, for a 10-year old vehicle, its COE can be renewed for 10 years based on the Prevailing Quota Premium (PQP).

2.     However, some owners feel that their vehicles may not last for another 10 years. As an exception, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) therefore provides a five-year renewal option for such owners, on the condition that their vehicles must be deregistered at the end of five years. This is made known at the point of COE renewal.

3.     Most owners have deregistered their vehicles as required but understandably, some owners feel differently after five years, but it will not be fair for LTA to grant an exception for this group of owners.

4.     As an additional piece of information, owners can also renew the vehicle for another 10 years upfront, for which he can receive a rebate on the PQP paid if the vehicle is deregistered early