Statute Details
- Title: Road Traffic (Exemption from Sections 10(1) and 27(2)) Order 2013
- Act Code: RTA1961-S143-2013
- Legislation Type: Subsidiary Legislation (SL)
- Authorising Act: Road Traffic Act (Chapter 276), section 142
- Enacting Formula / Maker: Minister for Transport (made by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transport, Singapore)
- Citation: Road Traffic (Exemption from Sections 10(1) and 27(2)) Order 2013
- Commencement: Deemed to have come into operation on 25 February 2013
- Key Provision(s): Section 1 (Citation and commencement); Section 2 (Exemption)
- Relevant Cross-Legislation: Road Traffic Act (sections 10(1) and 27(2)); Road Traffic (Motor Vehicles, Quota System) Rules (rule 3(1)(c)); Road Traffic (Motor Vehicles, Quota System) (Amendment No. 2) Rules 2013 (G.N. No. S 142/2013)
- Status (as provided): Current version as at 27 March 2026
- Document Number in Gazette: S 143/2013
What Is This Legislation About?
The Road Traffic (Exemption from Sections 10(1) and 27(2)) Order 2013 is a targeted exemption order made under the Road Traffic Act (Chapter 276). In plain terms, it temporarily carves out a specific class of vehicles from certain statutory requirements in the Road Traffic Act, but only where the vehicles meet tightly defined conditions relating to the certificate of entitlement (COE) lifecycle and the Registrar’s actions between specified dates.
The order is not a general regulatory framework. Instead, it addresses a particular administrative and legal transition scenario in 2013 involving the Road Traffic (Motor Vehicles, Quota System) Rules. Those rules govern the quota system for motor vehicles and the COE regime. The exemption order recognises that, during a defined period, some vehicles may have been affected by the Registrar’s cancellation and subsequent renewal processes for COEs, and it prevents the vehicles from being treated as non-compliant under the Road Traffic Act provisions that would otherwise apply.
For practitioners, the key point is that this is a narrow, fact-specific exemption. It does not create broad discretion for vehicle owners or allow arbitrary reliance. It operates automatically only for vehicles that fall within the specified category and satisfy the date-based and procedural conditions described in the order.
What Are the Key Provisions?
Section 1 (Citation and commencement) provides the formal legal identity of the order and its effective date. The order may be cited as the Road Traffic (Exemption from Sections 10(1) and 27(2)) Order 2013. Importantly, it is deemed to have come into operation on 25 February 2013, even though the order was made on 12 March 2013. This “deeming” provision is legally significant: it means the exemption applies retrospectively from 25 February 2013, which can affect compliance assessments and enforcement outcomes for events occurring between 25 February and the date of making.
Section 2 (Exemption) is the operative provision. It states that “any vehicle” falling within a particular category (as defined by cross-reference to rule 3(1)(c) of the Road Traffic (Motor Vehicles, Quota System) Rules) and meeting two additional conditions will be exempt from specified sections of the Road Traffic Act.
First, the vehicle must fall within the category of vehicles referred to in rule 3(1)(c) of the Road Traffic (Motor Vehicles, Quota System) Rules. While the extract does not reproduce rule 3(1)(c), the cross-reference indicates that the exemption is tied to a particular COE-related vehicle category under the quota system. Practitioners should treat this as a threshold requirement: if the vehicle does not fall within that category, the exemption cannot be invoked.
Second, the exemption is conditioned on the Registrar’s actions and the timing of those actions. The order requires that:
- Condition (a): the Registrar has, between 25 February 2013 and 13 March 2013 (both dates inclusive), cancelled the registration of the vehicle upon the expiry of a certificate of entitlement (valid for 5 years) issued for that vehicle; and
- Condition (b): the Registrar has, on or after 13 March 2013, renewed the certificate of entitlement pursuant to an application for renewal made on or before 19 March 2013 (or such other date as the Registrar may specify in any particular case), under the Road Traffic (Motor Vehicles, Quota System) Rules as amended by the Road Traffic (Motor Vehicles, Quota System) (Amendment No. 2) Rules 2013 (G.N. No. S 142/2013).
Third, once the above conditions are satisfied, the vehicle is exempt from sections 10(1) and 27(2) of the Road Traffic Act. The extract specifies the scope of the exemption for section 10(1): it applies “insofar as it relates to the keeping of the vehicle.” This indicates that section 10(1) likely contains multiple limbs, and the exemption is limited to the part dealing with keeping/possession/continued use of the vehicle. The exemption from section 27(2) is stated without such limitation in the extract, suggesting the exemption covers the relevant operation of that subsection in full (subject to the order’s own scope).
Finally, the order includes a formal “Made this 12th day of March 2013” signature block by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transport, indicating the instrument was properly executed under the authorising powers.
How Is This Legislation Structured?
This subsidiary legislation is structured in a very simple format with two sections:
- Section 1 (Citation and commencement): identifies the order and sets its effective date through a deemed commencement.
- Section 2 (Exemption): defines the class of vehicles and the precise factual conditions under which the exemption applies, together with the Road Traffic Act provisions from which the vehicles are exempt.
There are no schedules or complex procedural steps in the extract. The operative mechanics rely heavily on cross-references to other instruments (the Motor Vehicles, Quota System Rules and a specific amendment set) and on date-based criteria tied to Registrar actions and renewal applications.
Who Does This Legislation Apply To?
The order applies to vehicles—not directly to persons—provided the vehicles meet the category and factual conditions. In practice, the relevant “persons” are typically vehicle owners, registered proprietors, or persons responsible for compliance with the Road Traffic Act requirements relating to keeping and use of vehicles. However, the legal trigger is the vehicle’s status and the Registrar’s administrative history.
Accordingly, the exemption is most relevant to cases where a COE expired, the Registrar cancelled the vehicle registration during the defined window (25 February 2013 to 13 March 2013), and then the COE was renewed on or after 13 March 2013 following an application made on or before 19 March 2013 (or another date specified by the Registrar). If those events occurred, and the vehicle is within the specified rule 3(1)(c) category, the vehicle benefits from the statutory exemption.
Why Is This Legislation Important?
This order is important because it addresses a compliance risk created by the interaction between COE expiry/cancellation and subsequent renewal under amended quota system rules. Without an exemption, vehicles that had their registration cancelled upon COE expiry could face legal consequences under the Road Traffic Act provisions that regulate keeping and related matters. The exemption order prevents those consequences from applying where the vehicle’s COE was subsequently renewed under the specified transitional framework.
From an enforcement and litigation perspective, the order provides a clear legal basis to argue that certain vehicles should not be treated as breaching sections 10(1) and 27(2) of the Road Traffic Act, provided the statutory conditions are met. Because the order is narrow and cross-referenced, practitioners should focus on evidencing the factual matrix: the vehicle’s category under rule 3(1)(c), the dates of cancellation, the date of renewal, and the timing of the renewal application (including any Registrar-specified alternative date).
For practitioners advising clients, the retrospective commencement (deemed operation from 25 February 2013) can be particularly significant. It may affect whether enforcement actions taken during the period between 25 February and 12 March 2013 should be reconsidered, and it can influence how compliance is assessed for that timeframe. Where disputes arise about whether a vehicle was lawfully “kept” or otherwise within the scope of section 10(1) and section 27(2), this order may be a decisive instrument.
Related Legislation
- Road Traffic Act (Chapter 276): sections 10(1) and 27(2) (as exempted by this order); section 142 (authorising power for the Minister to make exemption orders)
- Road Traffic (Motor Vehicles, Quota System) Rules: rule 3(1)(c) (vehicle category referenced in section 2)
- Road Traffic (Motor Vehicles, Quota System) (Amendment No. 2) Rules 2013: G.N. No. S 142/2013 (the amended rules under which COE renewal applications were made)
Source Documents
This article provides an overview of the Road Traffic (Exemption from Sections 10(1) and 27(2)) Order 2013 for legal research and educational purposes. It does not constitute legal advice. Readers should consult the official text for authoritative provisions.