Statute Details
- Title: Property Tax (Non-Residential Buildings) (Remission) (No. 2) Order 2001
- Act Code: PTA1960-S553-2001
- Legislation Type: Subsidiary legislation (SL)
- Authorising Act: Property Tax Act (Cap. 254), specifically section 6(5B)
- Citation: S 553/2001
- Commencement: Deemed to have come into operation on 1 July 2001
- Duration: Remains in operation until 31 December 2002 (both dates inclusive)
- Status: Current version as at 27 Mar 2026
- Key Provisions: Sections 1–4 and the Schedule (statutory boards eligible for enhanced remission)
- Subject Matter: Remission of property tax and payments in lieu of tax for non-residential buildings
- Revocation: Revokes the earlier Property Tax (Non-Residential Buildings) (Remission) Order 2001 (G.N. No. S 398/2001)
What Is This Legislation About?
The Property Tax (Non-Residential Buildings) (Remission) (No. 2) Order 2001 is a targeted tax relief instrument issued under the Property Tax Act. In plain terms, it provides a temporary remission (reduction) of property tax—or, where applicable, payments made in lieu of tax—for certain non-residential buildings in Singapore during a defined period.
The Order applies to buildings (or parts of buildings) that are permitted for use under the Planning Act for purposes other than human habitation. This means the relief is aimed at commercial, industrial, institutional, and other non-residential uses, rather than residential occupancy.
Importantly, the remission is not uniform. It depends on (i) whether the building is owned and let by a “statutory board” and (ii) whether the statutory board is one of those specified in the Schedule. For non-statutory-board cases, the remission is structured as a combination of full relief on the first portion of tax and partial relief on the remainder.
What Are the Key Provisions?
1. Citation and commencement (section 1)
Section 1 provides the formal citation of the Order and sets its effective dates. The Order is deemed to have come into operation on 1 July 2001. It remains in force until 31 December 2002, inclusive. For practitioners, this temporal limitation is crucial: remission is only available for the relevant property tax period(s) falling within that window, and claims must be assessed against the effective dates.
2. Remission of tax and payments in lieu of tax (section 2)
Section 2 is the core relief provision. It states that, subject to section 3, there shall be remission in respect of any building (or part) that is permitted for non-residential use under the Planning Act.
The Order then distinguishes between two categories:
- Statutory boards specified in the Schedule (section 2(a)): Where the building or part is “owned and let by a statutory board” listed in the Schedule, there is a remission of 30% of any payment made in lieu of tax under section 6(7) of the Property Tax Act.
- All other cases (section 2(b)): Where the building is not within the Schedule category, the remission is calculated as the aggregate of:
- 100% of the tax payable on the first $80,000 of the annual value; and
- 30% of the tax payable on the annual value exceeding $80,000.
Practical effect: For non-statutory-board cases (or statutory boards not in the Schedule), the remission operates like a progressive relief band. The first $80,000 of annual value is fully relieved (100% remission of the tax attributable to that band), while the portion above $80,000 receives a 30% remission of the tax attributable to the excess annual value.
3. Application limits and exclusions (section 3)
Section 3 sets out important exclusions. Even if a building is non-residential in planning terms, the remission may still be denied if any of the listed conditions apply:
- Exclusion for statutory boards already receiving payments in lieu of tax (section 3(a)): The Order does not apply to any building or part owned and occupied by a statutory board for which payment in lieu of tax is made under section 6(7) of the Act.
- Exclusion for statutory boards not in the Schedule (section 3(b)): The Order does not apply to buildings owned and let by statutory boards other than those specified in the Schedule where payment in lieu of tax is made under section 6(7).
- Vacant-land deemed assessment treatment (section 3(c)): The Order does not apply to buildings situated or being erected on land where the annual value has been assessed as if it were vacant land under section 2(3)(b) of the Act.
- Excess land demarcation and separate vacant-land deeming (section 3(d)): The Order does not apply to buildings situated or being erected on that part of land demarcated as “excess land” under section 2(5) of the Act, where the annual value has been separately assessed by deeming that part as vacant land.
Why these exclusions matter: They prevent remission from being claimed where the annual value is computed on a “vacant land” basis (or where the statutory board’s tax treatment is already governed by payments in lieu of tax rules). For tax practitioners, these exclusions require careful fact-finding: land classification (vacant land vs. excess land) and the statutory board’s ownership/occupation/letting status can be determinative.
4. Revocation of an earlier remission order (section 4)
Section 4 revokes the earlier Property Tax (Non-Residential Buildings) (Remission) Order 2001 (G.N. No. S 398/2001). This indicates that the “No. 2” Order supersedes the earlier remission framework for the relevant period. Practically, this affects how practitioners should interpret claims for periods overlapping with the earlier order: the revocation suggests that the later Order is the operative instrument.
The Schedule
While the extract provided does not list the statutory boards in the Schedule, the Schedule is legally significant because it determines which statutory boards receive the specific 30% remission of payments in lieu of tax under section 2(a). In practice, the Schedule will be consulted alongside the factual matrix of ownership and letting by statutory boards.
How Is This Legislation Structured?
This Order is structured in a straightforward manner typical of Singapore subsidiary legislation:
- Section 1 (Citation and commencement): Identifies the instrument and sets the effective dates.
- Section 2 (Remission of tax and payments in lieu of tax): Establishes the remission entitlement and the calculation methodology, including the statutory-board-specific treatment and the general tax banding approach.
- Section 3 (Application of Order): Provides exclusions and clarifies when the remission does not apply, including statutory board occupation/letting scenarios and special annual value assessment rules (vacant land and excess land deeming).
- Section 4 (Revocation): Removes the earlier remission order to avoid conflicting regimes.
- The Schedule: Lists the statutory boards eligible for the enhanced remission of payments in lieu of tax.
From a practitioner’s perspective, the operative provisions are sections 2 and 3, with section 1 and section 4 serving to define temporal scope and legal continuity.
Who Does This Legislation Apply To?
The Order applies to owners and occupiers (and, in the case of payments in lieu of tax, the relevant statutory board arrangements) in respect of buildings or parts of buildings that are permitted under the Planning Act for non-residential purposes. The relief is tied to the property’s permitted use and the manner in which property tax (or payments in lieu of tax) is computed under the Property Tax Act.
However, the Order does not apply universally. It excludes certain statutory board scenarios—particularly where the statutory board is already within the payments in lieu of tax framework and where the statutory board is not specified in the Schedule. It also excludes properties where annual value is assessed on a deemed vacant land basis (including excess land demarcations). Therefore, eligibility is highly fact-dependent: practitioners must examine both the planning permission category and the property tax assessment basis under the Property Tax Act.
Why Is This Legislation Important?
This Order is important because it provides a structured, time-limited remission regime that can materially reduce property tax liabilities (or payments in lieu of tax) for non-residential properties. For businesses and property owners, the remission can improve cash flow and reduce effective tax burden during the remission period.
From an enforcement and compliance standpoint, the exclusions in section 3 are equally significant. They prevent the remission from being claimed where the annual value is treated as vacant land or where statutory board tax treatment already applies. This reduces the risk of over-claiming and ensures that the remission targets the intended class of non-residential buildings.
For legal practitioners advising clients, the Order also illustrates how subsidiary legislation can interact with the Property Tax Act’s valuation and statutory board payment-in-lieu framework. A correct claim requires aligning (i) the building’s permitted use under the Planning Act, (ii) the ownership/letting/occupation facts, (iii) whether the statutory board is listed in the Schedule, and (iv) the annual value assessment basis (including vacant land and excess land deeming). These are precisely the issues that typically arise in disputes over tax remission eligibility.
Related Legislation
- Property Tax Act (Cap. 254) — particularly sections 2 (annual value deeming), 6(5B) (power to make remission orders), and 6(7) (payments in lieu of tax)
- Planning Act (Cap. 232) — for determining permitted use categories relevant to “non-human habitation” purposes
- Property Tax (Non-Residential Buildings) (Remission) Order 2001 (G.N. No. S 398/2001) — revoked by section 4 of this Order
Source Documents
This article provides an overview of the Property Tax (Non-Residential Buildings) (Remission) (No. 2) Order 2001 for legal research and educational purposes. It does not constitute legal advice. Readers should consult the official text for authoritative provisions.