Statute Details
- Title: Singapore Tourism (Cess Collection) (Formula 1 Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix 2024) Order 2024
- Act Code: STCCA1972-S688-2024
- Legislative Type: Subsidiary legislation (SL)
- Authorising Act: Singapore Tourism (Cess Collection) Act 1972
- Enacting Formula: Made by the Minister for Trade and Industry under section 5 of the Singapore Tourism (Cess Collection) Act 1972
- Commencement: 4 September 2024
- Primary Subject: Imposition and calculation of tourism cess for specified hotel accommodation arrangements connected with the Formula 1 Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix 2024
- Key Provisions (from extract): Sections 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9; Schedule (premises categorisation into Parts 1–3)
- Tourism Event: Formula 1 Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix 2024
- Taxable Period: 19 September 2024 to 22 September 2024 (both dates inclusive)
- Status / Version: Current version as at 27 March 2026 (per provided extract)
What Is This Legislation About?
The Singapore Tourism (Cess Collection) (Formula 1 Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix 2024) Order 2024 (“the Order”) is a targeted subsidiary instrument that applies the Singapore Tourism (Cess Collection) framework to a specific major tourism event: the Formula 1 Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix 2024. In practical terms, it identifies a narrow window of dates during which certain hotel accommodation arrangements are treated as “taxable transactions” connected with the event, and it sets out how much tourism cess is payable.
Tourism cess is a levy collected from the tourism sector, typically tied to hotel accommodation receipts. This Order does not create a general cess regime from scratch; instead, it operationalises the cess regime for the event by defining the taxable period, the taxable transactions, the responsible “tourism event establishment” (the hotel operator), and the cess rates based on how the hotel premises are categorised in the Schedule.
For practitioners, the Order is most relevant to hotel operators, hotel management companies, and parties structuring accommodation bookings (including corporate arrangements, travel agencies, and event-related contracting). It also contains specific carve-outs for accommodation provided under infectious disease orders (including COVID-19-related arrangements), which can be critical when determining whether cess applies to certain government or public-purpose accommodation uses.
What Are the Key Provisions?
1. Definitions and core concepts (Section 2)
Section 2 sets out operative definitions. “Accommodation” is defined broadly as accommodation that includes the use of a room with a bed or other sleeping facilities, for any length of time. “Hotel” takes its meaning from the Hotels Act 1954, anchoring the Order to the established regulatory definition. The Order also defines “money’s worth” to capture loyalty programme points and similar rewards that can be redeemed for accommodation—an important concept because cess calculations depend on whether consideration is paid wholly in money or includes non-cash consideration.
Section 2 further clarifies what counts as “consideration paid in money”. It includes cash and cheques, vouchers with cash value or discount, credit/debit card facilities, digital wallet transfers, and combinations of these. This matters because the Order uses different methods for calculating “gross receipts” depending on whether consideration is wholly in money (Section 8) or falls into other categories (Section 9).
2. The tourism event and taxable period (Sections 3 and 4)
Section 3 identifies the tourism event: the Formula 1 Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix 2024. Section 4 then fixes the “taxable period” connected with the event as 19 September 2024 to 22 September 2024 (inclusive). This is the temporal boundary for cess liability: accommodation arrangements that are “for use at any time during the taxable period” can fall within the cess regime even if the booking is made earlier.
3. Taxable transactions and exclusions (Section 5)
Section 5 is the heart of the Order. It specifies which arrangements are “taxable transactions connected with the tourism event on which cess is payable.” In summary, the taxable transactions are:
- Legally enforceable arrangements that are wholly or in part for accommodation provided or to be provided for use during the taxable period, at premises specified in the Schedule (Part 1, 2 or 3), where the arrangement involves the operator of the hotel.
- Termination of an arrangement mentioned above.
The inclusion of “termination” is significant. It means cess may be payable not only on the original accommodation booking but also on certain charges or forfeited deposits arising from termination—captured later in the gross receipts rules (Section 8(4)).
Section 5(2) provides targeted exclusions. Notably, an arrangement is not a taxable transaction where the accommodation is provided (or to be provided) to an individual in connection with an order under section 15 or 17(3) of the Infectious Diseases Act 1976 relating to COVID-19 or any other infectious disease, and either (i) one party is the Government or a public-purpose body, or (ii) the premises are designated as a facility providing accommodation to relevant crew members of ships. This carve-out reflects a policy choice to avoid imposing tourism cess on accommodation arrangements driven by infectious disease control measures and public-purpose facilities.
4. Who makes the taxable transactions (Section 6)
Section 6 identifies the “tourism event establishment making the taxable transaction” as the operator of the hotel. This is a practical allocation of responsibility: the hotel operator is the party expected to collect and remit cess (subject to the broader statutory framework in the parent Act). For hotel groups, this provision is crucial for determining which entity within the corporate structure is the correct cess-accountable party, particularly where day-to-day operations are managed by a separate operator.
5. Cess rates by Schedule category (Section 7)
Section 7 sets the cess payable as a percentage of gross receipts derived or treated as derived from each taxable transaction, depending on which Schedule Part the premises fall under:
- 30% for premises specified in Part 1 of the Schedule (used as a hotel).
- 20% for premises specified in Part 2.
- 15% for premises specified in Part 3.
From a compliance perspective, the Schedule classification is often the decisive factor. Practitioners should therefore treat the Schedule as an evidentiary and operational document: it determines the applicable rate and should be cross-checked against the hotel’s registered premises and operational use during the taxable period.
6. Gross receipts where consideration is wholly in money (Section 8)
Section 8 provides the method for calculating “gross receipts” for taxable transactions where consideration is paid wholly in money. The Order expressly includes taxable transactions that relate to another taxable transaction where the original consideration may include “money’s worth” (e.g., loyalty points), provided that the relevant termination-related consideration is paid wholly in money and no consideration for the original transaction is forfeited as a result of the termination.
Section 8(3) defines gross receipts for the accommodation arrangement itself as the total of:
- the consideration paid for the taxable transaction; and
- additional payments such as early check-in or late check-out charges, and charges for additional sleeping facilities in the same accommodation.
Section 8(4) defines gross receipts for termination-related taxable transactions as the total of:
- charges paid for the termination; and
- deposits forfeited because of the termination.
This structure is important for contract drafting and accounting. Hotels should ensure that their billing systems can identify early check-in/late check-out and additional sleeping facility charges as part of taxable gross receipts, and that termination fees and forfeited deposits are properly captured.
7. Gross receipts in other cases (Section 9)
Section 9 addresses taxable transactions where consideration is not wholly in money, and certain scenarios where transactions are complimentary, gifts, or consequences of non-taxable transactions. It applies, in particular, where:
- the taxable transaction is described as complimentary or a gift, and consideration is paid in money’s worth or both money and money’s worth; or
- the taxable transaction is a consequence of another transaction that is not connected with the tourism event; or
- for termination-related taxable transactions, the whole of the consideration (referred to in Section 9(1)(a)(ii)) is forfeited as a result of the taxable transaction.
Section 9(2) then introduces a formula-based approach for calculating the amount treated as gross receipts. It uses a ratio: TGR ÷ N, where TGR is the total gross receipts for taxable transactions (as calculated under Section 8(3) and (4)) in relation to the hotel premises, and N is the aggregate number of rooms on each day of the taxable period required to be provided under the relevant taxable transactions, including rooms used by guests and rooms not used due to “no show”.
Although the extract truncates the remainder of Section 9(3) and beyond, the approach indicates a legislative intent to impute a value for non-cash or indirect consideration arrangements by reference to the hotel’s overall taxable receipts and room utilisation during the taxable period. Practitioners should therefore expect that hotels will need robust room-night accounting and reconciliation between booking categories (paid, points-based, complimentary, gift, and no-show) to support the imputed gross receipts calculation.
How Is This Legislation Structured?
The Order is structured as a short set of operative provisions followed by a Schedule. The main sections are:
- Section 1: Citation and commencement (sets the effective date).
- Section 2: Definitions, including “accommodation”, “hotel”, “money’s worth”, “operator”, and the meaning of “consideration paid in money”.
- Section 3: Identifies the tourism event (the 2024 Grand Prix).
- Section 4: Defines the taxable period (19–22 September 2024).
- Section 5: Defines taxable transactions and exclusions (including infectious disease-related carve-outs).
- Section 6: Identifies the hotel operator as the tourism event establishment making taxable transactions.
- Section 7: Sets cess rates (15%/20%/30%) by Schedule category.
- Sections 8 and 9: Provide gross receipts calculation rules—different methods for consideration paid wholly in money versus other cases (including points, gifts, and imputed values).
- The Schedule: Lists premises and assigns them to Parts 1, 2, or 3, which determine the applicable cess rate.
Who Does This Legislation Apply To?
The Order applies to hotel operators (as defined) in respect of hotel premises specified in the Schedule that are used to provide accommodation during the taxable period under legally enforceable arrangements connected with the Formula 1 Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix 2024.
It also affects parties that contract with hotels—such as travel agents, corporate bookers, and event contractors—because the cess liability is triggered by the existence of legally enforceable arrangements involving the hotel operator and accommodation for use during the taxable period. However, the statutory responsibility for making the taxable transaction is directed at the operator (Section 6), meaning compliance processes typically sit with the hotel entity.
Why Is This Legislation Important?
This Order is important because it translates a general tourism cess policy into a concrete, event-specific compliance obligation. For the 2024 Grand Prix, it establishes a defined taxable period and a clear set of taxable transactions, including termination scenarios—meaning hotels must treat cancellation and forfeiture mechanics as part of the cess base.
From a practitioner’s perspective, the most consequential issues are (i) whether a booking arrangement falls within the definition of a taxable transaction (including the legally enforceable arrangement requirement and the Schedule premises requirement), (ii) the applicable cess rate determined by the Schedule Part, and (iii) the gross receipts calculation method, particularly where consideration involves loyalty points (“money’s worth”), complimentary arrangements, gifts, or indirect consequences of other transactions.
Finally, the infectious disease carve-out in Section 5(2) is a compliance safeguard. It signals that not all accommodation provided during the taxable period is automatically subject to cess—where accommodation is provided under infectious disease orders and meets the specified public-purpose conditions, cess may not be payable. Hotels and contractors should therefore maintain documentation showing the legal basis for such accommodation and the relevant designation or party status.
Related Legislation
- Singapore Tourism (Cess Collection) Act 1972 (authorising framework for event-specific cess orders)
- Hotels Act 1954 (definition of “hotel”)
- Infectious Diseases Act 1976 (infectious disease orders referenced for exclusions, including COVID-19-related orders)
Source Documents
This article provides an overview of the Singapore Tourism (Cess Collection) (Formula 1 Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix 2024) Order 2024 for legal research and educational purposes. It does not constitute legal advice. Readers should consult the official text for authoritative provisions.