Statute Details
- Title: Income Tax (Lendlease Global Commercial REIT — Section 13(12) Exemption) Order 2022
- Act Code: ITA1947-S491-2022
- Type: Subsidiary Legislation (SL)
- Authorising Act: Income Tax Act 1947
- Authorising Provision: Section 13(12) of the Income Tax Act 1947
- Enacting Formula: Minister for Finance makes the Order in exercise of powers under section 13(12)
- Key Provision: Exemption granted for specified dividend income received in Singapore by RBC Investor Services Trust Singapore Limited as trustee of Lendlease Global Commercial REIT
- Citation: Income Tax (Lendlease Global Commercial REIT — Section 13(12) Exemption) Order 2022
- SL Number: SL 491/2022
- Date Made: 23 June 2022
- Commencement: Applies to dividends received “on or after 2 December 2021” (as stated in the operative exemption)
- Status: Current version as at 27 Mar 2026 (per the legislation portal extract)
What Is This Legislation About?
The Income Tax (Lendlease Global Commercial REIT — Section 13(12) Exemption) Order 2022 is a targeted tax exemption order made under section 13(12) of Singapore’s Income Tax Act 1947. In plain terms, it grants an exemption from Singapore tax for certain dividend income received in Singapore by a REIT trustee, where the dividends originate from a specified foreign entity and are linked to a specified Singapore property.
The Order is not a general tax regime for all REITs. Instead, it is a bespoke instrument that applies only to a particular REIT structure (Lendlease Global Commercial REIT), a particular trustee (RBC Investor Services Trust Singapore Limited), a particular dividend source (Lendlease Asian Retail Investment Fund 3 Limited, incorporated in Bermuda), and a particular property (Jem at 50 and 52 Jurong Gateway Road). It also ties the exemption to the manner in which the underlying distributions are funded—namely, dividends paid out of rental/property-related income and interest derived from deposits funded by such income.
Practically, the Order addresses a common cross-border structuring issue: when a Singapore REIT (or its trustee) receives distributions from an offshore holding vehicle, the Singapore tax treatment may depend on whether the distributions are characterised as taxable income. This exemption order carves out a specific category of dividends from tax, subject to conditions set out in a letter of approval dated 2 December 2021.
What Are the Key Provisions?
1. Citation (Paragraph 1)
Paragraph 1 simply identifies the instrument as the “Income Tax (Lendlease Global Commercial REIT — Section 13(12) Exemption) Order 2022”. While this is standard drafting, it is important for practitioners confirming the correct subsidiary legislation instrument when advising on compliance, filings, or audit responses.
2. Core exemption for specified dividend income (Paragraph 2(1))
The operative exemption is in paragraph 2(1). It provides that the “dividend income described in sub-paragraph (2)” received in Singapore by RBC Investor Services Trust Singapore Limited (incorporated in Singapore) in its capacity as trustee of Lendlease Global Commercial REIT from Lendlease Asian Retail Investment Fund 3 Limited (incorporated in Bermuda) on or after 2 December 2021 is exempt from tax.
This is a narrow exemption with several built-in filters:
- Recipient: RBC Investor Services Trust Singapore Limited, acting as trustee (not as an ordinary corporate taxpayer).
- Character of income: dividend income.
- Source: dividends from a specific Bermuda entity (Lendlease Asian Retail Investment Fund 3 Limited).
- Timing: dividends received “on or after 2 December 2021” (which may have implications for tax computations and potential backdating of relief).
3. What dividends are covered (Paragraph 2(2))
Paragraph 2(2) limits the exemption to dividends “paid out of” certain income streams. Specifically, the exemption applies to dividends paid out of either:
- (a) any rental income and other property-related income received by the specified companies for the specified property; or
- (b) any interest income derived from any bank deposit made up of any rental income and other property-related income received for the specified property.
In other words, the exemption is linked to the economic source of the distributions. If the Bermuda entity pays dividends funded by rental/property-related income (or interest earned on deposits funded by that income), those dividends fall within the exemption. Conversely, if dividends are funded by other types of income not captured by paragraph 2(2), the exemption may not apply.
4. Conditions precedent: letter of approval (Paragraph 2(3))
Paragraph 2(3) states that the exemption is subject to the conditions specified in the letter of approval dated 2 December 2021 addressed to EY Corporate Advisors Pte. Ltd.
This is a critical compliance point. Even though the Order itself sets out the exemption framework, the ongoing eligibility may depend on meeting conditions in the approval letter—potentially including reporting obligations, structuring requirements, restrictions on the use of funds, or other governance/tax compliance measures. For practitioners, the approval letter is effectively part of the “substantive” conditions for the exemption, even though it is not reproduced in the Order text.
5. Definitions: specified companies and specified property (Paragraph 2(4))
Paragraph 2(4) defines the key terms that anchor the exemption:
- “specified companies” means:
- Lendlease Commercial Investments Pte. Ltd. (Singapore)
- Lendlease Retail Investments 3 Pte. Ltd. (Singapore)
- “specified property” means the property known as Jem, located at 50 and 52 Jurong Gateway Road, Singapore.
These definitions matter because paragraph 2(2) refers to rental income and property-related income received by the “specified companies” for the “specified property”. Therefore, the exemption is tied to the income generation at the level of these Singapore companies and the specific asset (Jem). If rental/property-related income is generated from other properties or through different entities, it may fall outside the exemption.
How Is This Legislation Structured?
This Order is structured in a very concise format typical of exemption orders under the Income Tax Act. It contains:
- Enacting Formula (the legal basis and authority for making the Order under section 13(12) of the Income Tax Act 1947);
- Paragraph 1 (Citation) identifying the instrument;
- Paragraph 2 (Exemption) setting out the scope, conditions, and definitions.
There are no separate Parts or complex schedules in the extract provided. The operative content is concentrated in paragraph 2, with sub-paragraphs (1) to (4) defining the exemption, the covered dividend source and funding, the conditions, and the relevant parties and property.
Who Does This Legislation Apply To?
The exemption applies to RBC Investor Services Trust Singapore Limited when it receives dividend income in Singapore as trustee of Lendlease Global Commercial REIT. It does not apply to other trustees or other REITs, even if they have similar structures. The exemption is also limited by the dividend payer: it must be dividends received from Lendlease Asian Retail Investment Fund 3 Limited (Bermuda).
In addition, the underlying income must be linked to the specified companies (Lendlease Commercial Investments Pte. Ltd. and Lendlease Retail Investments 3 Pte. Ltd.) and the specified property (Jem at 50 and 52 Jurong Gateway Road). Therefore, the exemption is best understood as applying to a particular REIT distribution pathway and a particular asset-linked income stream, rather than to dividends generally.
Why Is This Legislation Important?
This Order is important because it provides certainty—within its narrow scope—about the Singapore tax treatment of certain cross-border distributions to a REIT trustee. For REIT investors, asset managers, and tax advisers, the ability to structure distributions so that they qualify for exemption can materially affect the after-tax economics of the REIT and the predictability of cash flows.
From an enforcement and compliance perspective, the Order also highlights that exemption is not purely automatic. The exemption is expressly subject to conditions in a specific letter of approval dated 2 December 2021. Practitioners should treat that approval letter as a key document for ongoing compliance. In practice, tax authorities may scrutinise whether the dividends were indeed paid out of the qualifying income streams described in paragraph 2(2), and whether the specified companies and specified property definitions were satisfied throughout the relevant period.
Finally, the “on or after 2 December 2021” timing indicates that the exemption may apply to dividends received from that date forward. Advisers should therefore consider how this interacts with dividend declaration dates, payment dates, and the REIT’s tax reporting periods, particularly when preparing returns or responding to queries about tax treatment for distributions around the commencement threshold.
Related Legislation
- Income Tax Act 1947 (especially section 13(12), which provides the statutory power for exemption orders)
- Legislation timeline / Income Tax subsidiary legislation register (to confirm the correct version and any amendments, if applicable)
Source Documents
This article provides an overview of the Income Tax (Lendlease Global Commercial REIT — Section 13(12) Exemption) Order 2022 for legal research and educational purposes. It does not constitute legal advice. Readers should consult the official text for authoritative provisions.