Statute Details
- Title: Road Traffic (Motor Vehicles, Registration and Licensing) (Exemption for Vehicles More Than 3 Years Old) Order 2019
- Act Code: RTA1961-S796-2019
- Legislation Type: Subsidiary Legislation (SL)
- Authorising Act: Road Traffic Act (Chapter 276)
- Authorising Provision: Section 142 of the Road Traffic Act
- Legislation Number: S 796/2019
- Date Made: 2 December 2019
- Date of Commencement: 3 December 2019
- Status: Current version (as at 27 March 2026)
- Key Provisions (from extract): Section 1 (Citation and commencement); Section 2 (Exemption)
- Primary Exemption Target: A specific motor vehicle identified by engine number and chassis number, registered in a named person’s name
What Is This Legislation About?
The Road Traffic (Motor Vehicles, Registration and Licensing) (Exemption for Vehicles More Than 3 Years Old) Order 2019 is a narrowly tailored exemption order made under the Road Traffic Act. In plain terms, it creates an exception to a particular rule in the Road Traffic (Motor Vehicles, Registration and Licensing) Rules, but only for one specifically identified vehicle.
Rather than establishing a general category of vehicles that qualify for an exemption, the Order operates as a targeted legal instrument. It identifies the vehicle by its engine number and chassis number and specifies that the vehicle must be registered in the name of a particular individual. The exemption is therefore personal and vehicle-specific, reflecting the administrative and regulatory approach Singapore sometimes takes when a particular case requires relief from a standard regulatory requirement.
Although the Order’s title refers to “vehicles more than 3 years old,” the operative provision in the extract does not set out a broad age-based exemption. Instead, it exempts the identified vehicle from the application of Rule 5(1) of the Road Traffic (Motor Vehicles, Registration and Licensing) Rules (R 5). The practical effect is that the standard requirement contained in Rule 5(1) is not applied to that vehicle.
What Are the Key Provisions?
Section 1: Citation and commencement provides the formal identification of the instrument and states when it takes effect. The Order is cited as the “Road Traffic (Motor Vehicles, Registration and Licensing) (Exemption for Vehicles More Than 3 Years Old) Order 2019” and comes into operation on 3 December 2019. For practitioners, this matters because any regulatory compliance obligations that depend on the date of operation will be assessed by reference to this commencement date.
Section 2: Exemption is the operative clause. It states that Rule 5(1) of the Road Traffic (Motor Vehicles, Registration and Licensing) Rules (R 5) does not apply to a particular vehicle. The vehicle is identified with precision using two technical identifiers: the engine number and the chassis number. The extract specifies:
- Engine number: 27492030315472
- Chassis number: WDD2050422R039528
- Registered name: Oey Shui Ling
In effect, the exemption is conditional on the vehicle being registered in the name of the specified person and being the vehicle with those exact engine and chassis numbers. This drafting approach reduces ambiguity and prevents the exemption from being extended to other vehicles that might share similar characteristics (including age) but do not match the specified identifiers.
Legal significance of “does not apply”: The phrase “does not apply” indicates that Rule 5(1) is excluded entirely for the exempted vehicle. This is different from a partial modification or a discretionary waiver that might still require compliance with some elements of Rule 5(1). Practically, the exempted vehicle should be treated as if Rule 5(1) were absent for that vehicle, subject to any other rules that may still apply.
Scope limitation: The Order does not create a general framework for exemptions for all vehicles older than three years. Instead, it is a single-vehicle exemption. For lawyers advising clients, this means that the Order is unlikely to be relied upon to support a broader claim for exemption unless the client’s vehicle matches the identifiers and registration conditions stated in the Order.
How Is This Legislation Structured?
This Order is extremely short and consists of an enacting formula and two substantive provisions:
- Section 1 (Citation and commencement): identifies the instrument and sets the commencement date.
- Section 2 (Exemption): provides the specific exemption from Rule 5(1) for the identified vehicle.
There are no additional parts, schedules, or categories in the extract. The structure reflects the nature of the instrument as a targeted exemption order rather than a comprehensive regulatory amendment.
Who Does This Legislation Apply To?
The exemption applies to the specific motor vehicle bearing the engine number 27492030315472 and chassis number WDD2050422R039528, registered in the name of Oey Shui Ling. The Order therefore applies to the vehicle and its registration particulars, rather than to a class of vehicle owners or a general category of vehicles.
From a practical standpoint, the person most directly affected is the registered owner named in the Order. However, the legal effect is tied to the vehicle’s identity and registration status. If the vehicle is transferred to another person, or if the vehicle’s identifiers are altered (for example, through replacement of major components), the exemption’s applicability could become uncertain. While the extract does not expressly address transfer or replacement scenarios, the specificity of the identifiers and the named registered owner suggests that the exemption is not intended to “follow” the vehicle in a general way without maintaining the stated registration and identification details.
Why Is This Legislation Important?
Even though the Order is narrow, it is important because it demonstrates how Singapore’s road traffic regulatory regime can be adjusted through subsidiary legislation under the Road Traffic Act. For practitioners, the key takeaway is that exemptions may be granted not only through general rules or policy frameworks, but also through case-specific orders that carve out exceptions from otherwise applicable regulatory requirements.
In practice, the Order’s value lies in its ability to resolve a compliance issue for the exempted vehicle. Rule 5(1) of the Road Traffic (Motor Vehicles, Registration and Licensing) Rules (R 5) presumably imposes a requirement connected to vehicles more than three years old (as suggested by the Order’s title). By excluding the exempted vehicle from Rule 5(1), the Order provides legal certainty that the standard requirement will not be enforced against that vehicle.
For lawyers advising clients—whether vehicle owners, fleet operators, or compliance teams—the Order underscores the need to verify whether an exemption is:
- General or specific (this one is specific),
- Age-based or identifier-based (this one is identifier-based), and
- Conditional on registration details (this one is tied to a named registered owner).
Additionally, because the Order is a subsidiary legislation instrument, it should be treated as binding law. Compliance decisions should therefore be made by reference to the text of the Order and the relevant rule it exempts, rather than by assumption based on the title alone.
Related Legislation
- Road Traffic Act (Chapter 276) — in particular, section 142 (power to make exemption orders)
- Road Traffic (Motor Vehicles, Registration and Licensing) Rules — Rule 5(1) (the provision from which the exempted vehicle is excluded)
- Road Traffic (Motor Vehicles, Registration and Licensing) (Exemption for Vehicles More Than 3 Years Old) Order 2019 — S 796/2019 (this instrument)
Source Documents
This article provides an overview of the Road Traffic (Motor Vehicles, Registration and Licensing) (Exemption for Vehicles More Than 3 Years Old) Order 2019 for legal research and educational purposes. It does not constitute legal advice. Readers should consult the official text for authoritative provisions.