SINGAPORE LEGISLATION

• Date: 01 December 1991
• Published date: 01 December 1991
• Author: CHARLES LIM AENG CHENG
• Citation: (1991) 3 SAcLJ 324

DIGEST OF LEGISLATION BETWEEN JUNE 1991 AND DECEMBER 1991

ACTS PASSED BETWEEN JUNE 1991 AND DECEMBER 1991 IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER

Architects Act 1991

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Act No. 22 of 1991

Long Title: An Act to establish the Board of Architects, to provide for the registration of architects, to regulate the qualifications and practice of architects and the supply of architectural services in Singapore by corporations; and to repeal the Architects Act (Chapter 12 of the 1985 Revised Edition).

Passed by Parliament on: 28th June 1991.

Assented to by President on: 24th July 1991.

Publication date: 2nd August 1991.

Commencement date: 30th August 1991 vide S 337/91.

Summary: This Act seeks to repeal and re-enact with amendments the Architects Act. The amendments provide for —

1. (a) the establishment of a new Board of Architects with greater disciplinary powers;

2. (b) the requirement of a longer and more recent period of practical experience in local architectural work for the purposes of registration as an architect;

3. (c) the issue of annual practising certificates to registered architects; and

4. (d) the licensing of corporations and multi-discipline partnerships which intend to supply architectural services in Singapore.

Comments: This Act when it was a Bill was referred to the Parliamentary Select Committee together with the Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors Bills. The Select Committee made several amendments to the Bill after hearing representations from the public. These amendments are reflected in its report (Parl. 3 of 1991) presented to Parliament on 17 June 1991.

Related legislation: Professional Engineers Act 1991 and Land Surveyors Act 1991 (see below for digest of these Acts).

Economic Expansion Incentives (Relief from Income Tax) (Amendment) Act 1991

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Act No. 29 of 1991

Long Title: An Act to amend the Economic Expansion Incentives (Relief from Income Tax) Act (Chapter 86 of the 1988 Revised Edition).

Passed by Parliament on: 29th July 1991.

Assented to by President on: 6th August 1991.

Publication date: 16th August 1991.

Commencement date: 16th August 1991.

Summary: This Act seeks to amend the Economic Expansion Incentives (Relief from Income Tax) Act for the following purposes:

1. (a) to allow the Minister, as announced in the Government’s 1990 Budget Statement, to extend the tax relief period of a post-pioneer company for such further periods as he may determine but the total tax relief period must not exceed 10 years;

2. (b) to remove the unconditional right of a pioneer company which has incurred or is intending to incur a fixed capital expenditure of not less than $1,000 million to defer to after its tax relief period the claim of allowances on capital expenditure unless the company has incurred such expenditure before the commencement of the Amendment Act;

3. (c) to empower the Comptroller of Income Tax to give directions pertaining to the proper apportionment of income and expenditure of a post-pioneer company between its tax relief period and the period after that;

4. (d) to provide for the mandatory claiming of allowances by a post-pioneer company on fixed capital expenditure during its tax relief period; and

5. (e) to remove the requirement in relation to the tax exemption of dividends paid by the holding company of an expanding enterprise or of an export enterprise that the Minister’s determination of the proportion of shares required to be held by the holding company of the enterprise must be made at the time when the expansion certificate or export certificate is issued.

Financial Procedure (Amendment) Act 1991

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Act No. 25 of 1991

Long Title: An Act to amend the Financial Procedure Act (Chapter 109 of the 1985 Revised Edition).

Passed by Parliament on: 28th June 1991.

Assented to by President on: 24th July 1991.

Publication date: 2nd August 1991.

Commencement date: 30th November 1991 vide S 519/91.

Summary: This Act seeks mainly to make amendments to the Financial Procedure Act which are consequent upon the amendments on the elected President made to the Constitution by the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore (Amendment) Act 1991.

A new section 2A provides for the appointment of an Accountant-General by the President on the advice of the Public Service Commission. A new section 2B relates to the duties of the Accountant-General.

Section 7 of the Act is amended to add investment in gold and other bullion to the list of investments which may be made by the Minister and to provide that no investment under this section shall be made in any Government stock, bond, fund or security. Section 8 (1) of the Act is amended to provide that the Minister may also establish deposit accounts for the proper accounting of moneys received, not being revenues of Singapore. Section 9 of the Act is amended to reflect the current practice of including money for the purpose of making advances in the Annual Estimates submitted to Parliament for approval.

Section 11 (2) of the Act is amended to provide that the Minister may authorise issue of money from the Consolidated Fund to meet expenditure —

1. (a) appropriated by a Supply or Supplementary Supply law or any other law or approved by resolution of Parliament in accordance with Article 148A (2) of the Constitution;

2. (b) approved by resolution of Parliament in accordance with Article 148B (1) of the Constitution with which the President concurs;

3. (c) approved by resolution of Parliament in accordance with Article 148B (4) of the Constitution.

4. (d) approved by the Cabinet in accordance with Article 148B (4) of the Constitution.

Section 15 of the Act is re-enacted to provide that no guarantee shall be binding on Singapore unless it is given with authority of the Minister with which the...