MOF Accepts for Implementation 9 out of 16 suggestions Received on Draft Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill 2009

1. The Ministry of Finance (MOF) has accepted for implementation 9 out of the 16 suggestions received on the draft Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill 2009 during the public consultation exercise held from 3 to 24 June 2009.

2. The draft Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill 2009 contains proposed legislation to put into effect the following tax changes announced in Budget 2009, as well as other changes arising from the periodic review of the Goods and Services Tax system:

Budget 2009 tax changes:
(a) Zero-rating treatment for all aircrafts used wholly for international travel as well as the sale and lease of aircraft parts forming part of a qualifying aircraft;

(b) GST suspension for goods temporarily removed from Zero-GST or Licensed Warehouses for auctions and exhibitions;

Other tax changes:
(c) GST registration of a trust in the name of the trust (as an alternative to registering in the name of the trustee);

(d) Extension of the current GST treatment for physical vouchers to all forms of vouchers including electronic vouchers; and

(e) Requirement for taxpayers to state their grounds of objection when applying for a review or revision of a decision made by the Comptroller of GST.

3. 9 suggestions have been accepted for implementation, and will be incorporated in the revised Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill 2009 or IRAS' e-tax guides, or be studied by IRAS as part of its periodic review of the GST system. The remaining 7 suggestions were not accepted for implementation as they were inconsistent with drafting convention for legislation or policy objectives of the tax changes.

4. We thank all respondents to this consultation exercise. Our responses to the key feedback received are also summarised on the MOF website.

MINISTRY OF FINANCE