Statute Details
- Title: Income Tax (Oasis LNG No 1 Pte. Ltd., etc. — Section 13(4) Exemption) Notification 2025
- Act Code: ITA1947-S98-2025
- Type: Subsidiary Legislation (SL)
- Authorising Act: Income Tax Act 1947
- Authorising Provision: Section 13(4) of the Income Tax Act 1947
- Enacting Formula: Minister for Finance makes the Notification in exercise of powers under section 13(4)
- Notification No.: S 98
- Made Date: 3 February 2025
- Deemed Commencement: Deemed to have come into operation on 14 August 2023
- Status / Version: Current version as at 27 Mar 2026
- Key Operative Provision: Section 2 (Exemption)
What Is This Legislation About?
The Income Tax (Oasis LNG No 1 Pte. Ltd., etc. — Section 13(4) Exemption) Notification 2025 is a targeted tax exemption notification issued under Singapore’s Income Tax Act 1947. In plain terms, it provides that certain fees paid by specified Singapore borrowers to specified overseas lenders—under specified loan facility agreements—are exempt from tax.
The notification is “project-specific” and “transaction-specific”. It does not create a general exemption for all LNG financing or all borrowers. Instead, it identifies particular borrower entities (Oasis LNG No 1 Pte. Ltd. through Oasis LNG No. 7 Pte. Ltd.), particular lenders (a defined list of banks), and particular fee types and payment dates (an upfront fee and a commitment fee). The exemption applies only to the fees described in the table and only when paid under the loan facility agreements identified.
Practically, such notifications are commonly used to support cross-border financing structures by reducing withholding or other tax burdens that would otherwise apply to payments made to non-resident lenders. Here, the exemption is anchored to the Minister for Finance’s power under section 13(4) of the Income Tax Act 1947, which allows the Minister to exempt specified payments from tax subject to conditions.
What Are the Key Provisions?
1. Citation and commencement (Enacting Formula, paragraph 1)
The notification is cited as the “Income Tax (Oasis LNG No 1 Pte. Ltd., etc. — Section 13(4) Exemption) Notification 2025”. It is deemed to have come into operation on 14 August 2023. This is significant for practitioners because it means the exemption is intended to apply retroactively to payments made on or after that deemed date—at least to the extent the payments fall within the categories described in the exemption table.
2. The exemption itself (paragraph 2(1))
Paragraph 2(1) is the core operative provision. It states that the fees mentioned in the third column of the table—paid by the borrower in the first column to the lenders in the second column—under the agreement in the fourth column corresponding to those fees are exempt from tax.
The table identifies:
- Borrowers: Oasis LNG No 1 Pte. Ltd., Oasis LNG No 2 Pte. Ltd., Oasis LNG No 3 Pte. Ltd., Oasis LNG No 4 Pte. Ltd., Oasis LNG No 5 Pte. Ltd., Oasis LNG No 6 Pte. Ltd., and Oasis LNG No. 7 Pte. Ltd.
- Lenders: A defined set of financial institutions, including:
- Bank of China Limited Qatar Financial Centre Branch
- Bank of China Limited, Shanghai Branch
- Bank of China Limited, Tokyo Branch
- Caixabank, S.A.
- Development Bank of Japan Inc.
- MUFG Bank, Ltd.
- SBI Shinsei Bank, Limited
- SMBC Bank International plc
- Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, Limited
- Fees and payment dates:
- Upfront fee (paid on 14 August 2023) with amounts specified for each borrower; and
- Commitment fee (paid on 11 September 2023) with amounts specified for each borrower.
- Agreement: A loan facility agreement dated 15 June 2023 to finance the construction of a specified LNG carrier with a stated hull number for each borrower (e.g., hull number 3395 for Oasis LNG No 1 Pte. Ltd., 3396 for Oasis LNG No 2 Pte. Ltd., and so on through hull number 3401 for Oasis LNG No. 7 Pte. Ltd.).
3. Conditions attached to the exemption (paragraph 2(2))
Paragraph 2(2) provides an important legal safeguard: the exemption in paragraph 2(1) is subject to conditions specified in a letter from the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) dated 6 January 2025. The letter is issued on behalf of the Minister for Finance and is addressed to the Oasis LNG entities listed in paragraph 2(1).
From a practitioner’s perspective, this is a critical point. Even where the payment falls squarely within the table, the exemption may be conditional upon compliance with requirements set out in the IRAS letter. Because the notification text does not reproduce those conditions, lawyers should treat the IRAS letter as an essential part of the exemption’s legal architecture. Non-compliance could jeopardise the exemption and potentially expose the payer to tax liabilities and penalties.
4. Making and formalities (Made on 3 February 2025)
The notification was made on 3 February 2025 by the Permanent Secretary (Development), Ministry of Finance, Singapore. The formal making date matters for governance and record-keeping, but the deemed commencement date (14 August 2023) indicates the intended temporal reach of the exemption.
How Is This Legislation Structured?
This notification is structured in a concise, two-part format typical of tax exemption notifications made under specific statutory powers:
- Section 1 (Citation and commencement): sets out the name of the notification and the deemed commencement date.
- Section 2 (Exemption): contains:
- Section 2(1): the substantive exemption, implemented through a detailed table linking borrowers, lenders, fees, and agreements; and
- Section 2(2): the conditionality clause, tying the exemption to conditions in an IRAS letter dated 6 January 2025.
There are no additional parts or schedules in the extract provided beyond the table embedded in Section 2(1). The table is therefore the practical “map” of the exemption’s scope.
Who Does This Legislation Apply To?
The notification applies to the specific borrower entities named in the table: Oasis LNG No 1 Pte. Ltd. through Oasis LNG No. 7 Pte. Ltd. It also applies to the specific lenders listed (nine named financial institutions and branches). The exemption is limited to the fees described (upfront fee and commitment fee) and the loan facility agreements dated 15 June 2023 for the construction of LNG carriers with the specified hull numbers.
Accordingly, the exemption is not available to other borrowers, other lenders, or other financing arrangements—even if they are economically similar. For a practitioner, this means the legal analysis should begin with a strict matching exercise: confirm the payer, payee, fee type, payment date, and agreement identity. If any element differs, the exemption may not apply.
Finally, the exemption is also conditional on compliance with the IRAS letter dated 6 January 2025 issued on behalf of the Minister for Finance. That letter is addressed to the Oasis LNG entities, indicating that the conditions are imposed on those entities (and, by extension, on the transaction documentation and tax compliance processes they must follow).
Why Is This Legislation Important?
This notification is important because it directly affects the tax treatment of cross-border financing fees in a high-value LNG ship construction context. Upfront fees and commitment fees are common components of syndicated or bilateral loan facilities. Without an exemption, such payments could attract tax under Singapore’s income tax regime (depending on the characterisation of the payment and the operation of the relevant charging provisions). By granting an exemption, the notification reduces the tax cost and improves the predictability of the financing economics.
From an enforcement and compliance standpoint, the conditionality clause in paragraph 2(2) is equally significant. Even when the transaction matches the table, the exemption is not unconditional. Practitioners should therefore treat the IRAS letter dated 6 January 2025 as a compliance checklist. Typical conditions in such contexts may include requirements relating to documentation, reporting, beneficial ownership or tax residency, and adherence to the terms of the loan facility agreement. While the extract does not set out those conditions, the legal effect is clear: the exemption is only as good as the borrower’s compliance with the conditions specified by IRAS on behalf of the Minister.
For deal lawyers and tax counsel, the deemed commencement date (14 August 2023) also matters. It suggests that the exemption is intended to cover fees paid in 2023 (not merely prospectively). This can be crucial where withholding tax or tax reporting positions were taken at the time of payment. Counsel should consider whether any retrospective adjustments, amended filings, or documentation updates are required to align with the exemption.
Related Legislation
- Income Tax Act 1947 (including section 13(4), which provides the power to grant exemptions)
- Income Tax Act 1947 (general framework for the taxation of income and specified payments)
- Legislation timeline / version history (to confirm the applicable version as at the relevant date)
Source Documents
This article provides an overview of the Income Tax (Oasis LNG No 1 Pte. Ltd., etc. — Section 13(4) Exemption) Notification 2025 for legal research and educational purposes. It does not constitute legal advice. Readers should consult the official text for authoritative provisions.