On 20/05/2013,
you requested for the version in force on 20/05/2013
incorporating all amendments published on or before 20/05/2013.
The closest version currently available is that of 18/04/2013.
13.
—(1) There shall be exempt from tax —
(a)
subject to subsection (2) and such conditions as may be prescribed by regulations, the interest derived from —
(i)
any qualifying debt securities issued during the period from 28th February 1998 to 31st December 2013 by any person who is not resident in Singapore and who does not have any permanent establishment in Singapore; and
[34/2008 wef 16/12/2008]
(ii)
any qualifying debt securities issued during the period from 27th February 1999 to 31st December 2013 by any person who is not resident in Singapore and who carries on any operation in Singapore through a permanent establishment in Singapore where the funds used by that person to acquire the qualifying debt securities are not obtained from the operation;
[34/2008 wef 16/12/2008]
(aa)
subject to subsection (2A) and such conditions as may be prescribed by regulations, the discount from any qualifying debt securities —
(i)
issued during the period from 27th February 2004 to 16th February 2006 which mature within one year from the date of issue of those securities; or
(ii)
issued during the period from 17th February 2006 to 31st December 2013,
[34/2008 wef 16/12/2008]
by —
(A)
any person who is not resident in Singapore and who does not have any permanent establishment in Singapore; or
(B)
any person who is not resident in Singapore and who carries on any operation in Singapore through a permanent establishment in Singapore where the funds used by that person to acquire the qualifying debt securities are not obtained from the operation;
(ab)
subject to subsection (2B) and such conditions as may be prescribed by regulations, any amount payable from any Islamic debt securities which are qualifying debt securities, and issued during the period from 1st January 2005 to 31st December 2013, to any person —
(i)
who is not resident in Singapore and who does not have any permanent establishment in Singapore; and
(ii)
who is not resident in Singapore and who carries on any operation in Singapore through a permanent establishment in Singapore where the funds used by that person to acquire the qualifying debt securities are not obtained from the operation;
[34/2008 wef 16/12/2008]
(b)
subject to subsections (2C) and (2D) and such conditions as may be prescribed by regulations —
(i)
the interest derived by any person from any qualifying project debt securities issued during the period from 1st November 2006 to 31st March 2017;
[22/2011 wef 01/01/2012]
[34/2008 wef 16/12/2008]
(ii)
the discount, prepayment fee, redemption premium and break cost derived by any person from any qualifying project debt securities issued during the period from 15th February 2007 to 31st March 2017; and
[22/2011 wef 01/01/2012]
[34/2008 wef 16/12/2008]
(iii)
such other income derived by any person that is directly attributable to qualifying project debt securities issued on or after a prescribed date, as may be prescribed by regulations;
(ba)
subject to subsection (2F) and such conditions as may be prescribed by regulations, the prepayment fee, redemption premium and break cost from any qualifying debt securities issued during the period from 15th February 2007 to 31st December 2013 that is derived by any person —
(i)
who is not resident in Singapore and who does not have any permanent establishment in Singapore; and
(ii)
who is not resident in Singapore and who carries on any operation in Singapore through a permanent establishment in Singapore where the funds used by that person to acquire the qualifying debt securities are not obtained from the operation;
[34/2008 wef 16/12/2008]
(bb)
subject to subsection (2G) and such conditions as may be prescribed by regulations, such other income directly attributable to qualifying debt securities issued on or after a prescribed date as may be prescribed by regulations, that is derived by any person —
(i)
who is not resident in Singapore and who does not have any permanent establishment in Singapore; and
(ii)
who is not resident in Singapore and who carries on any operation in Singapore through a permanent establishment in Singapore where the funds used by that person to acquire the qualifying debt securities are not obtained from the operation;
(bc)
subject to subsection (2H) and such conditions as may be prescribed by regulations —
(i)
the interest, discount, prepayment fee, redemption premium and break cost derived by any person from any qualifying debt securities (excluding Singapore Government Securities) which —
(A)
are issued during the period from 16th February 2008 to 31st December 2013;
(B)
have an original maturity of not less than 10 years;
(C)
cannot be redeemed, called, exchanged or converted within 10 years from the date of their issue; and
(D)
cannot be re-opened with a resulting tenure of less than 10 years to the original maturity date; and
(ii)
such other income, as may be prescribed by regulations, derived by any person that is directly attributable to qualifying debt securities (excluding Singapore Government Securities) which —
(A)
are issued on or after such date as may be prescribed by regulations;
(B)
have an original maturity of not less than 10 years;
(C)
cannot be redeemed, called, exchanged or converted within 10 years from the date of their issue; and
(D)
cannot be re-opened with a resulting tenure of less than 10 years to the original maturity date;
[34/2008 wef 16/02/2008]
(bd)
subject to subsection (2I) and such conditions as may be prescribed by regulations, any amount payable to any person from any Islamic debt securities —
(i)
which are qualifying debt securities and issued during the period from 16th February 2008 to 31st December 2013; and
(ii)
the amount payable from which is not deductible against any income of the issuer of those securities accruing in or derived from Singapore;
[34/2008 wef 16/02/2008]
(c)
the official emoluments payable from Commonwealth funds to members of Commonwealth forces, and to persons in the service of a Commonwealth government, in Singapore, in respect of their offices under such Commonwealth government, if such emoluments are subject to income tax in such Commonwealth country;
(d)
any gains or profits, other than dividends derived from Singapore from which tax has been deducted under section 44, arising from sums standing in the SRS account of any SRS member except where section 10L(13) applies;
(e)
the income of any institution, authority, person or fund specified in the First Schedule, except dividends received before 1st January 2008 by it from any company in which it holds, at the time such dividends are declared, more than half of the total number of issued shares of the company unless the Minister otherwise approves;
(f)
the income of —
(i)
any bona fide friendly society approved by the Comptroller;
(ii)
any co-operative society registered under the Co-operative Societies Act (Cap. 62);
(g)
[Deleted by Act 29 of 2012 wef 18/12/2012]
(h)
any sum received by way of commutation of pensions granted under any written law relating to pensions in Singapore or, in the case of any other pension scheme, any sum received by way of commutation of pensions by an individual under such a scheme to the extent of such sum as the Comptroller may determine relating to the period of employment of that individual with the employer before 1st January 1993;
(i)
sums received by way of death gratuities or as consolidated compensation for death or injuries;
(j)
sums standing to the account of an individual in the Central Provident Fund or any approved pension or provident fund designated by the Minister under section 39(8) or withdrawn therefrom except for sums in respect of dividends (other than dividends derived from outside Singapore) credited to his Investment Account maintained under the Central Provident Fund Act (Cap. 36);
(ja)
sums standing to the account of an individual in an approved pension or provident fund (other than the Central Provident Fund or any approved pension or provident fund designated by the Minister under section 39(8)) to the extent of the sum standing to his account as at 31st December 1992 and of such interest on that sum as the Comptroller may determine for the period 1st January 1993 to the date of his retirement and which are withdrawn only upon or after his retirement in accordance with the rules or constitution of the fund;
(jb)
any retiring gratuity received by an individual from an approved pension or provident fund (other than the Central Provident Fund or any approved pension or provident fund designated by the Minister under section 39(8)) to the extent of such amount of the gratuity as the Comptroller may determine relating to the period of employment of that individual with the employer before 1st January 1993;
(jc)
any voluntary contribution in cash made in 2011 or any subsequent year by a person of a description prescribed by the Minister to the medisave account maintained under the Central Provident Fund Act (Cap. 36) of a self-employed individual, up to $1,500 less —
(i)
any previous contribution made to that medisave account in that year that is exempt from tax under this paragraph; and
(ii)
any previous contribution made to that medisave account in that year which is not deemed to be income under section 10C(4):
Provided that the amount of the voluntary contribution does not exceed the amount allowable under the Central Provident Fund Act and is within the medisave contribution ceiling prevailing at the time the contribution is made;
[22/2011 wef 01/01/2011]
(k)
sums derived from, or received in, Singapore as pensions, being —
(i)
wound or disability pensions granted to members or former members of a Commonwealth force;
(ii)
pensions granted to dependent relatives of any such member killed on war service or who died as a result of war service injuries; or
(iii)
wound or disability pensions granted to members or former members of civil defence organisations;
(l)
pensions granted to any person under the provisions of the Widows’ and Orphans’ Pension Act (Cap. 350) or under any approved scheme within the meaning of that Act and pensions paid, by or out of any approved pension or provident fund or society, to or for the benefit of the widow or children of a deceased contributor to such society or fund;
(m)
the income of any trade union registered under the Trade Unions Act (Cap. 333) in so far as such income is not derived from a trade or business carried on by such trade union;
(n)
any income derived by any person who is not resident in Singapore from trading in Singapore through consignees in any of the following commodities produced outside Singapore:
(i)
rubber;
(ii)
copra;
(iii)
pepper;
(iv)
tin;
(v)
tin-ore;
(vi)
gambia;
(vii)
sago flour;
(viii)
cloves;
(o)
subject to paragraph (oa), payments made or liable to be made under any agreement or arrangement approved by the Minister or such person as he may appoint to a person not resident in Singapore (excluding any permanent establishment in Singapore) by an international shipping enterprise approved under section 13F —
(i)
at any time during the period from 1st April 1991 to 16th February 2012 (both dates inclusive) for the charter of a foreign ship within the meaning of that section (other than that used for towing or salvage operations during the period 1st April 1991 to 2nd May 2002);
[Act 29 of 2012 wef 17/02/2012]
(ii)
at any time during the period from 27th February 2004 to 16th February 2012 (both dates inclusive) for the charter of any dredger, seismic ship or any vessel used for offshore oil or gas activity,
[Act 29 of 2012 wef 17/02/2012]
except for any payment attributable to the carriage of passengers, mails, livestock or goods from Singapore;
[Act 29 of 2012 wef 17/02/2012]
(oa)
payments liable to be made on or after 17th February 2012 to a person not resident in Singapore (excluding any permanent establishment in Singapore) for the charter of any ship under any agreement or arrangement;
[Act 29 of 2012 wef 17/02/2012]
(p)
for a period of 5 years from 1st January 2003, such income of the Singapore Commodity Exchange Limited as may be prescribed;
(q)
the investment income of any approved pension or provident fund or society;
(r)
the income derived on or after 3rd May 2002 by an individual not resident in Singapore from acting as an arbitrator, and for this purpose, “arbitrator” means an individual appointed for any arbitration which is governed by the Arbitration Act (Cap. 10) or the International Arbitration Act (Cap. 143A) or would have been governed by either of those Acts had the place of arbitration been Singapore;
(s)
sums payable by way of annual bounty out of the public revenue to members of such local forces as the Minister may from time to time by order declare to be a force to which this paragraph shall apply;
(t)
the income derived on or after 20th August 1968 from interest on moneys held on deposit in an approved bank in Singapore by —
(i)
a non-resident individual; and
(ii)
a person, other than an individual, if that person does not, by himself or in association with others, carry on a business in Singapore and does not have a permanent establishment in Singapore;
(ta)
the income derived from interest on moneys held on deposit in an approved bank in Singapore by a non-resident person (not being an individual nor a permanent establishment in Singapore) who carries on any operation in Singapore through a permanent establishment in Singapore if the funds used by that person to make the deposit are not obtained from the operation;
(u)
such interest derived during the period 1st January 2002 to 31st December 2004 by any person from the deposit of moneys of up to an aggregate amount of $100,000 in one or more of his POSB savings accounts with The Development Bank of Singapore Ltd;
(ua)
such interest derived during the period 1st January 2003 to 31st December 2004 by any individual resident in Singapore from the deposit of moneys in one or more of his POSB savings accounts with The Development Bank of Singapore Ltd;
(v)
the interest received from such Asian Dollar Bonds as may be approved in writing by the Minister or such person as he may appoint if the interest is received by —
(i)
a non-resident individual; and
(ii)
a person, other than an individual, if that person does not, by himself or in association with others, carry on a business in Singapore and does not have a permanent establishment in Singapore;
(w)
the income derived from an employment exercised on board a Singapore ship, as defined in the Merchant Shipping Act (Cap. 179), if the employment is exercised substantially outside Singapore;
(x)
the income derived by a person resident in Singapore from any pension granted under any written law relating to pensions in Singapore, or from any pension paid under such other pensions scheme as may be approved by the Minister by notification in the Gazette to the extent of such amount of the pension as the Comptroller may determine relating to the period of employment of that person with the employer before 1st January 1993;
(y)
such income as may be prescribed by regulations under section 43A, 43C, 43E or 43N;
(z)
[Deleted by Act 29 of 2012 wef 18/12/2012]
(za)
any dividends paid on or after 1st January 2008 by any company resident in Singapore;
(zb)
any subsidy, allowance or benefit provided by an employer to an employee for the attendance by any child of the employee at a child care centre licensed under the Child Care Centres Act (Cap. 37A);
(zc)
the prescribed amount of interest derived during the period 1st January 2003 to 31st December 2004 by any individual from the deposit in any standard savings, current or fixed deposit account with an approved bank or a finance company licensed under the Finance Companies Act (Cap. 108);
(zd)
the interest derived on or after 1st January 2005 by any individual from the deposit of moneys with an approved bank or a finance company licensed under the Finance Companies Act in Singapore;
(ze)
the following income derived from Singapore on or after 1st January 2004 by any individual:
(i)
any interest from debt securities;
(ii)
any discount from debt securities which mature within one year from the date of issue of those securities;
(iii)
any income from an annuity, except income from —
(A)
any annuity purchased by the employer of an individual in lieu of any pension or other benefit payable during his employment or upon his retirement; and
(B)
any annuity purchased under SRS;
(iv)
any income from any life insurance policy, except income referred to in section 10(3);
(v)
any distribution made by the trustee of any collective investment scheme constituted as a unit trust (excluding any real estate investment trust) authorised under section 286 of the Securities and Futures Act (Cap. 289) and the units of which are offered to the public for subscription, that is income or deemed to be income of the individual, except distributions made out of Singapore dividends from which tax is deducted or deductible under section 44; and
(vi)
any fee or compensatory payment from securities lending or repurchase arrangements,
except where such income is derived through a partnership in Singapore or is derived from the carrying on of a trade, business or profession;
(zf)
any amount payable from Islamic debt securities on or after 1st January 2005 to any individual, except where such amount is derived by the individual through a partnership in Singapore or from the carrying on of a trade, business or profession;
(zg)
any distribution made by any trustee-manager of a registered business trust;
(zh)
any distribution made by any trustee of a real estate investment trust of any income of the kinds referred to in section 43(2A)(a)(i), (ii), (iii) and (iv) to an individual, except where such distribution is derived by the individual through a partnership in Singapore or is derived from the carrying on of a trade, business or profession;
(zi)
the following income derived from Singapore on or after 17th February 2006 by any individual:
(i)
any discount from debt securities;
(ii)
any distribution made by any restricted authorised scheme out of income derived from Singapore or received in Singapore on or after 17th February 2006, that is income or deemed to be income of the individual, except distribution made out of Singapore dividends from which tax is deducted or deductible under section 44,
except where such income is derived through a partnership in Singapore or is derived from the carrying on of a trade, business or profession;
(zj)
any income from any structured product offered by a financial institution derived from Singapore —
(i)
by an individual, in the basis period relating to the year of assessment 2008 and any subsequent year of assessment, except where such income is derived through a partnership in Singapore or is derived from the carrying on of a trade, business or profession;
(ii)
by a non-resident person (not being an individual) if —
(A)
it does not, by itself or in association with others, carry on a business in Singapore, and does not have a permanent establishment in Singapore; and
(B)
the contract in respect of the structured product between it and the financial institution takes effect during the period from 1st January 2007 to 31st March 2017 (both dates inclusive) and, if such contract is renewed or extended, the period for which it is renewed or extended commences before 1st April 2017; or
[22/2011 wef 01/01/2012]
(iii)
by a non-resident person (not being an individual nor a permanent establishment in Singapore) who carries on any operation in Singapore through a permanent establishment in Singapore if —
(A)
the funds used by that person to invest in the structured product are not obtained from the operation; and
(B)
the contract in respect of the structured product between that person and the financial institution takes effect during the period from 1st January 2007 to 31st March 2017 (both dates inclusive) and, if such contract is renewed or extended, the period for which it is renewed or extended commences before 1st April 2017;
[22/2011 wef 01/01/2012]
(zk)
any prepayment fee, redemption premium or break cost from debt securities derived from Singapore on or after 15th February 2007 by any individual, except where such income is derived through a partnership in Singapore or is derived from the carrying on of a trade, business or profession;
(zl)
such other income directly attributable to debt securities as may be prescribed by regulations derived from Singapore on or after a prescribed date by any individual, except where such income is derived through a partnership in Singapore or is derived from the carrying on of a trade, business or profession;
[27/2009 wef 29/12/2009]
(zm)
the income of any charity registered or exempt from registration under the Charities Act (Cap. 37);
[22/2011 wef 01/01/2011]
[27/2009 wef 29/12/2009]
(zn)
any Government cash grant payable to an employer in 2009 or 2010 under the Jobs Credit Scheme;
[27/2009 wef 29/12/2009]
[Act 29 of 2012 wef Y/A 2006 & Sub Ys/A]
(zo)
any sum accrued to a woman on or after 1st January 2011 by way of maintenance in accordance with an order of court or deed of separation;
[22/2011 wef 01/01/2011]
[27/2009 wef 29/12/2009]
[Act 29 of 2012 wef Y/A 2006 & Sub Ys/A]
(zp)
any contribution to the Central Provident Fund in respect of an individual, and any cash payment to an individual, made by the Government under the Workfare Bonus Scheme, the Workfare Special Payment scheme, the Workfare Special Bonus scheme or such other similar scheme involving similar contributions or payments by the Government as the Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, approve;
[Act 29 of 2012 wef Y/A 2006 & Sub Ys/A]
(zq)
any contribution to the Central Provident Fund in respect of an individual, and any cash payment to an individual, made by the Government under the Workfare Income Supplement Scheme established under Part VIA of the Central Provident Fund Act (Cap. 36); and
[Act 29 of 2012 wef Y/A 2007 & Sub Ys/A]
(zr)
any contribution by the Government to the PSE account, or an account in the Central Provident Fund, of an individual who is or was a national serviceman, as part of the National Service Recognition Award.
[Act 29 of 2012 wef Y/A 2011 & Sub Ys/A]
[26/73; 4/75; 5/77; 1/82; 15/83; 13/84; 3/89; 2/92; 28/92; 26/93; 11/94; 32/95; 1/98; 31/98; 37/98; 32/99; 24/2000; 24/2001; 37/2002; 21/2003; 49/2004; 8/2005; 34/2005; 7/2007; 53/2007]
(2) Subsection (1)(a) shall not, unless otherwise approved by the Minister or such person as he may appoint, apply to any interest derived from any qualifying debt securities issued during the period from 10th May 1999 to 31st December 2013 where 50% or more of the issue of those securities is beneficially held or funded, directly or indirectly, at any time during the life of the issue by related parties of the issuer of those securities and where such interest is derived by —
(a)
any related party of the issuer of those securities; or
(b)
any other person where the funds used by such person to acquire those securities are obtained, directly or indirectly, from any related party of the issuer of those securities.
[32/99; 21/2003]
[34/2008 wef 16/12/2008]
(2A) Subsection (1)(aa) shall not, unless otherwise approved by the Minister or such person as he may appoint, apply to any discount derived from any qualifying debt securities where 50% or more of the issue of those securities is beneficially held or funded, directly or indirectly, at any time during the life of the issue by related parties of the issuer of those securities and where such discount is derived by —
(a)
any related party of the issuer of those securities; or
(b)
any other person where the funds used by such person to acquire those securities are obtained, directly or indirectly, from any related party of the issuer of those securities.
[49/2004]
(2B) Subsection (1)(ab) shall not, unless otherwise approved by the Minister or such person as he may appoint, apply to any amount payable from any Islamic debt securities which are qualifying debt securities where 50% or more of the issue of those securities is beneficially held or funded, directly or indirectly, at any time during the life of the issue by related parties of the issuer of those securities and where the amount is payable to —
(a)
any related party of the issuer of those securities; or
(b)
any other person where the funds used by such person to acquire those securities are obtained, directly or indirectly, from any related party of the issuer of those securities.
[34/2005]
(2C) Subsection (1)(b) shall not, unless otherwise approved by the Minister or such person as he may appoint, apply to —
(a)
any interest derived from any qualifying project debt securities issued during the period from 1st November 2006 to 31st March 2017;
[22/2011 wef 01/01/2012]
[34/2008 wef 16/12/2008]
(b)
any discount, prepayment fee, redemption premium or break cost derived from any qualifying project debt securities issued during the period from 15th February 2007 to 31st March 2017; or
[22/2011 wef 01/01/2012]
[34/2008 wef 16/12/2008]
(c)
such other income directly attributable to qualifying project debt securities issued on or after a prescribed date, as may be prescribed by regulations,
if 50% or more of the issue of the securities is beneficially held or funded, directly or indirectly, at any time during the life of the issue by related parties of the issuer of those securities.
[53/2007]
(2D) Subsection (1)(b) shall not apply to —
(a)
any interest derived from any qualifying project debt securities issued during the period from 1st November 2006 to 31st March 2017;
[22/2011 wef 01/01/2012]
[34/2008 wef 16/12/2008]
(b)
any discount, prepayment fee, redemption premium or break cost derived from any qualifying project debt securities issued during the period from 15th February 2007 to 31st March 2017; or
[22/2011 wef 01/01/2012]
[34/2008 wef 16/12/2008]
(c)
such other income directly attributable to qualifying project debt securities issued on or after a prescribed date, as may be prescribed by regulations,
if the securities are held by less than 4 persons at any time during the life of the issue, unless —
(i)
approval has been granted by the Minister or such person as he may appoint to such application;
(ii)
all the persons holding the securities are companies resident in Singapore;
(iii)
such companies are listed on the Singapore Exchange either on the date of issue of the securities or within 6 months from that date; and
(iv)
the income from the securities received by such companies is declared to be distributable to their shareholders within 6 months from the end of the basis period in which it is received.
[53/2007]
(2E) Regulations made under subsection (1)(b), (bc) and (bd) may provide for the determination of the amount of income of the person to be exempted and for the deduction of expenses, allowances and losses of the person otherwise than in accordance with this Act.
[53/2007]
[Act 29 of 2012 wef Y/A 2013 & Sub Ys/A]
(2F) Subsection (1)(ba) shall not, unless otherwise approved by the Minister or such person as he may appoint, apply to any prepayment fee, redemption premium or break cost derived from any qualifying debt securities where —
(a)
50% or more of the issue of those securities is beneficially held or funded, directly or indirectly, at any time during the life of the issue by related parties of the issuer of those securities; and
(b)
such fee, premium or cost is derived by —
(i)
any related party of the issuer of those securities; or
(ii)
any other person where the funds used by such person to acquire those securities are obtained, directly or indirectly, from any related party of the issuer of those securities.
[53/2007]
(2G) Subsection (1)(bb) shall not, unless otherwise approved by the Minister or such person as he may appoint, apply to such other income directly attributable to qualifying debt securities as may be prescribed by regulations under that provision where —
(a)
50% or more of the issue of those securities is beneficially held or funded, directly or indirectly, at any time during the life of the issue by related parties of the issuer of those securities; and
(b)
such income is derived by —
(i)
any related party of the issuer of those securities; or
(ii)
any other person where the funds used by such person to acquire those securities are obtained, directly or indirectly, from any related party of the issuer of those securities.
[53/2007]
(2H) Subsection (1)(bc) shall not, unless otherwise approved by the Minister or such person as he may appoint, apply to any interest, discount, prepayment fee, redemption premium or break cost derived from any qualifying debt securities or such other income directly attributable to qualifying debt securities as may be prescribed by regulations under that provision where —
(a)
50% or more of the issue of those securities is beneficially held or funded, directly or indirectly, at any time during the life of the issue by related parties of the issuer of those securities; and
(b)
such income is derived by —
(i)
any related party of the issuer of those securities; or
(ii)
any other person where the funds used by such person to acquire those securities are obtained, directly or indirectly, from any related party of the issuer of those securities.
[34/2008 wef 16/12/2008]
(2I) Subsection (1)(bd) shall not, unless otherwise approved by the Minister or such person as he may appoint, apply to any amount payable from any Islamic debt securities which are qualifying debt securities where 50% or more of the issue of those securities is beneficially held or funded, directly or indirectly, at any time during the life of the issue by related parties of the issuer of those securities and where the amount is payable to —
(a)
any related party of the issuer of those securities; or
(b)
any other person where the funds used by such person to acquire those securities are obtained, directly or indirectly, from any related party of the issuer of those securities.
[34/2008 wef 16/12/2008]
(3) Nothing in subsection (1) shall be construed to exempt in the hands of the recipients any dividends, interest, bonuses, salaries or wages paid wholly or in part out of income so exempted.
[26/73]
(4) Where the Minister is of the opinion that any payment in the nature of any income referred to in section 12(6) or (7) is made for any purpose which will promote or enhance the economic or technological development of Singapore, he may, by notification in the Gazette, provide that the income shall, subject to such conditions as he may impose, be exempt from tax wholly or in part and either generally or in respect of certain classes of persons; and such income shall as from the date and to the extent specified by the notification be exempt from tax.
[5/77]
(5) [Deleted by Act 49/2004]
(6) There shall be exempt from tax any income accruing in or derived from Singapore in respect of gains or profits from any employment exercised in Singapore for not more than 60 days in the year preceding any year of assessment by a person who is not resident in Singapore in that year of assessment.
[4/75]
(7) Subsection (6) shall not apply to —
(a)
the emoluments received by a director of a company; or
(b)
the gains or profits of public entertainers, as defined in section 40A, whose visits are not substantially supported from public funds of the government of another country.
(7A) There shall be exempt from tax any income arising from sources outside Singapore and received in Singapore —
(a)
by any individual who is not resident in Singapore; and
(b)
on or after 1st January 2004 by any individual who is resident in Singapore if the Comptroller is satisfied that the tax exemption would be beneficial to the individual, but excludes such income received by him through a partnership in Singapore.
[49/2004]
(8) Where the conditions specified in subsection (9) are satisfied, there shall be exempt from tax —
(a)
any dividend derived from any territory outside Singapore;
(b)
any profit derived from any trade or business carried on by a branch in any territory outside Singapore of a company resident in Singapore; and
(c)
any income derived from any professional, consultancy and other services rendered in any territory outside Singapore only if the Comptroller is satisfied that the income is derived, for the purposes of this Act, from outside Singapore,
and received in Singapore —
(i)
on or after 1st June 2003 by any person, not being an individual, resident in Singapore;
(ii)
during 1st June 2003 to 31st December 2003 by any individual resident in Singapore; and
(iii)
on or after 1st January 2004 by any individual resident in Singapore through a partnership in Singapore.
[49/2004]
(8A) There shall be exempt from tax —
(a)
any income derived on or before 21st January 2009 from any source outside Singapore and received in Singapore during the period from 22nd January 2009 to 21st January 2010 (both dates inclusive) (referred to in this subsection as the specified period) by —
(i)
any person, not being an individual, resident in Singapore; or
(ii)
any individual resident in Singapore through a partnership in Singapore; and
(b)
any dividend received in Singapore during the specified period, being dividend paid during the specified period by a company not resident in Singapore out of any income derived by that company on or before 21st January 2009, by —
(i)
any person, not being an individual, resident in Singapore who —
(A)
is not a partner of a limited liability partnership in Singapore; and
(B)
beneficially owns directly more than 50% of the total number of issued ordinary shares of that non-resident company as at 21st January 2009;
(ii)
any individual resident in Singapore who beneficially owns directly more than 50% of the total number of issued ordinary shares of that non-resident company as at 21st January 2009, being dividend he receives through a partnership in Singapore (other than any limited liability partnership) of which he is a partner; or
(iii)
any person, whether or not an individual, who is a partner of a limited liability partnership in Singapore and whose effective ownership through the limited liability partnership (by virtue of section 36A) of the issued ordinary shares of that non-resident company as at 21st January 2009 is more than 50% of the total number of those shares.
[27/2009 wef 22/01/2009]
(8B) For the purpose of subsection (8A)(b)(iii), the effective ownership of the partner of a limited liability partnership of the issued ordinary shares of the non-resident company as at 21st January 2009 shall be ascertained in accordance with the formula
where A is the percentage of the income of the limited liability partnership to which the partner is entitled as at 21st January 2009; and |
B is the percentage of the total number of issued ordinary shares of that non-resident company as at 21st January 2009 beneficially owned directly by that limited liability partnership. |
[27/2009 wef 22/01/2009]
(8C) No exemption from tax shall be granted to any person under subsection (8A) unless the Comptroller is satisfied that the exemption would be beneficial to the person resident in Singapore.
[27/2009 wef 22/01/2009]
(8D) A person shall furnish to the Comptroller, in such form and manner and within such reasonable time as the Comptroller may determine, such information relating to income exempted under subsection (8A) as the Minister may direct the Comptroller to obtain for any statistical or research purpose.
[27/2009 wef 22/01/2009]
(9) The conditions referred to in subsection (8) are —
(a)
the income is subject to tax of a similar character to income tax (by whatever name called) under the law of the territory from which the income is received;
(b)
at the time the income is received in Singapore by the person resident in Singapore, the highest rate of tax of a similar character to income tax (by whatever name called) levied under the law of the territory from which the income is received on any gains or profits from any trade or business carried on by any company in that territory at that time is not less than 15%; and
(c)
the Comptroller is satisfied that the tax exemption would be beneficial to the person resident in Singapore.
[21/2003]
(9A) For the avoidance of doubt, in subsection (9)(a), income is subject to tax if tax has been paid, or tax (not being deferred tax) is to be paid on that income.
[34/2008 wef 16/02/2008]
(9B) The Minister or such person as he may appoint may in any particular case waive the condition referred to in subsection (9)(a), subject to such conditions as he may impose.
[34/2008 wef 16/02/2008]
(10) Where the income referred to in subsection (8) consists of dividends paid by a company, the tax referred to in subsection (9)(a) shall be —
(a)
where the company is resident in the territory from which the dividends are received, the tax paid in that territory by the company in respect of its income out of which the dividends are paid; and
(b)
the tax paid on the dividends in the territory from which the dividends are received.
[21/2003]
(11) The Minister may make regulations generally to give full effect to or for carrying out the purposes of subsection (8).
[21/2003]
(12) The Minister may by order —
(a)
exempt from tax wholly or in part; or
(b)
provide that tax at such concessionary rate of tax be levied and paid on,
the income received by a person resident in Singapore from such source in any country outside Singapore as may be specified in the order.
[37/2002]
(12A) Every order made under subsection (12) which exempts from tax any income received by —
(a)
the trustee of a real estate investment trust; or
(b)
a company incorporated in Singapore the share capital of which is 100% owned by the trustee of a real estate investment trust on the date of commencement of the order,
is, notwithstanding anything in that order, treated as revoked on 1st April 2015 unless revoked earlier; and any exemption granted under that order shall cease to apply to income received by such person on or after 1st April 2015.
[22/2011 wef 20/12/2011]
(13) An order made under subsection (12) may —
(a)
be either general or specific;
(b)
prescribe the conditions subject to which the income will be exempt from tax or be taxed at a concessionary rate of tax;
(c)
provide that the Minister may require all or any of the conditions referred to in paragraph (b) to be complied with to the satisfaction of the Comptroller;
(d)
prescribe a condition requiring the person to satisfy the Comptroller that all or any of the conditions referred to in paragraph (b) have been complied with before the income is received in Singapore.
[22/2011 wef 09/01/2009]
(13A) The conditions referred to in subsection (13) need not be included in the order for the purpose of publication in the Gazette.
[22/2011 wef 09/01/2009]
(14) Where any income is exempt from tax under subsection (8), or is exempt from tax or is taxed at a concessionary rate of tax by virtue of an order made under subsection (12) and the income is received by a company which is resident in Singapore (other than income derived from Malaysia and received in Singapore on or after 1st June 2003 by a company resident in Singapore where the company in paying any dividend out of such income declares itself to be a resident of Malaysia under paragraph 3 of Article VII of the Income Tax (Singapore — Malaysia) (Avoidance of Double Taxation Agreement) Order) —
(a)
an amount equal to the income exempt from tax or an amount equal to the net income after deduction of tax levied at the concessionary rate of tax, as the case may be, shall be credited to an account to be kept by the company for the purpose of this subsection; and
(b)
subsections (3) to (11) of section 13E shall apply, with the necessary modifications, to the company in respect of a distribution of dividends from the income as if the company were a company referred to in section 13E(3).
[32/95; 37/2002; 21/2003]
(15) The Minister may, at any time, by rules made under section 7, add to, vary or amend the list of commodities mentioned in subsection (1)(n).
[29/65]
(16) In this section —
“approved bank” means a bank in Singapore approved by the Minister by order in the Gazette;
“approved bond intermediary” means a financial institution approved as such by the Minister or such person as he may appoint;
“break cost”, in relation to debt securities, qualifying debt securities or qualifying project debt securities, means any fee payable by the issuer of the securities on the early redemption of the securities, the amount of which is determined by any loss or liability incurred by the holder of the securities in connection with such redemption;
“child”, in relation to an employee, means any legitimate child, illegitimate child, step-child, child adopted in accordance with any written law relating to the adoption of children and any child whom the employee is the legal guardian;
“debt securities” has the same meaning as in section 43N;
“deposit” means —
(a)
in relation to any standard savings, current or fixed deposit account referred to in subsection (1)(zc), any deposit of moneys, but does not include —
(i)
any deposit of moneys the interest from which is determined by the performance of any securities or by the fluctuations in currency exchange rates or by any combination thereof; or
(ii)
any other prescribed deposit; or
(b)
in relation to any deposit of moneys referred to in subsection (1)(t), (ta) or (zd) which is made on or after 7th October 2004 and which matures on or after 2nd June 2005, a deposit which falls within the meaning of deposit in section 4B of the Banking Act (Cap. 19) and is treated as such by the Monetary Authority of Singapore for the purposes of that section;
[34/2008 wef 06/12/2007]
“financial derivative” means a derivative the payoffs of which are linked, whether in whole or in part, to the payoffs or performance of any financial assets, securities, financial instruments or indices, but does not include a derivative the payoffs of which are wholly linked to the payoffs or performance of commodities;
“financial institution” means an institution licensed or approved by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, and includes an institution approved as an approved Fund Manager under section 43A and an institution approved as a Finance and Treasury Centre under section 43G;
“financial sector incentive (bond market) company” means a company approved as such by the Minister or such person as he may appoint;
“financial sector incentive (project finance) company” means a company approved as such by the Minister or such person as he may appoint;
“Islamic debt securities” has the same meaning as in section 43N(4);
“medisave contribution ceiling” has the same meaning as in section 39(13);
[22/2011 wef 01/01/2011]
“national serviceman” has the same meaning as in the Enlistment Act (Cap. 93);
[Act 29 of 2012 wef Y/A 2011 & Sub Ys/A]
“prepayment fee”, in relation to debt securities, qualifying debt securities or qualifying project debt securities, means any fee payable by the issuer of the securities on the early redemption of the securities, the amount of which is determined by the terms of the issuance of the securities;
“PSE account” has the same meaning as in the Education Endowment and Savings Schemes Act (Cap. 87A);
[Act 29 of 2012 wef Y/A 2011 & Sub Ys/A]
“qualifying debt securities” means —
(a)
Singapore Government securities issued during the period from 28th February 1998 to 31st December 2013;
[34/2008 wef 16/12/2008]
(b)
bonds, notes, commercial papers and certificates of deposits which are arranged in accordance with regulations made for this purpose —
(i)
by any financial institution in Singapore and issued during the period from 28th February 1998 to 31st December 2013;
[34/2008 wef 16/12/2008]
(ii)
by any approved bond intermediary and issued —
(A)
during the period from 27th February 1999 to 31st December 2013 under any prescribed programme the arrangement of which is completed on or before 31st December 2003; or
[34/2008 wef 16/12/2008]
(B)
during the period from 27th February 1999 to 31st December 2003 in any other case; or
(iii)
by any financial sector incentive (bond market) company and issued during the period from 1st January 2004 to 31st December 2013;
[34/2008 wef 16/12/2008]
(c)
Islamic debt securities which are arranged in accordance with regulations made for this purpose —
(i)
by any financial institution in Singapore and issued during the period from 1st January 2005 to 31st December 2013; or
[34/2008 wef 16/12/2008]
(ii)
by any financial sector incentive (bond market) company and issued during the period from 1st January 2005 to 31st December 2013,
[34/2008 wef 16/12/2008]
but, unless otherwise approved by the Minister or such person as he may appoint, excludes any debt securities issued on or after 10th May 1999 and any Islamic debt securities issued on or after 1st January 2005 which, during its primary launch —
(AA)
are issued to less than 4 persons; and
(BB)
50% or more of the issue of debt securities or Islamic debt securities is beneficially held or funded, directly or indirectly, by related parties of the issuer of those debt securities or Islamic debt securities;
“qualifying project debt securities” means debt securities —
(a)
which are issued during the period from 1st November 2006 to 31st March 2017 and arranged in accordance with regulations made for this purpose —
(i)
by any financial institution in Singapore; or
(ii)
by any financial sector incentive (bond market) company or financial sector incentive (project finance) company;
[22/2011 wef 01/01/2012]
[34/2008 wef 16/12/2008]
(b)
the interest and other income directly attributable to which are funded primarily by cash flows from an infrastructure asset or project prescribed by regulations (referred to in this definition as a prescribed asset or project); and
(c)
the proceeds from the issue of which are only used to acquire, develop or invest in a prescribed asset or project, or to refinance a previous borrowing which was only used for that purpose; where the gearing ratio of such prescribed asset or project is approved by the Minister or such person as he may appoint in a case where the debt securities are issued by a person in Singapore or the prescribed asset or project is in Singapore,
but does not include, except with the approval of the Minister or such person as he may appoint (which approval may be subject to such conditions as the Minister may impose), any debt securities —
(A)
which are issued to less than 4 persons; or
(B)
50% or more of the issue of which is beneficially held or funded, directly or indirectly, by related parties of the issuer of those debt securities;
“real estate investment trust” has the same meaning as in section 43(10);
“redemption premium”, in relation to debt securities, qualifying debt securities or qualifying project debt securities, means any premium payable by the issuer of the securities on the redemption of the securities upon their maturity;
“registered business trust” and “trustee-manager” have the same meanings as in the Business Trusts Act (Cap. 31A);
“related party”, in relation to a person, means any other person who, directly or indirectly, controls that person, or is controlled, directly or indirectly, by that person, or where he and that other person, directly or indirectly, are under the control of a common person;
“restricted authorised scheme” means a collective investment scheme constituted as a unit trust authorised under regulations made under the Securities and Futures Act (Cap. 289) for the purpose of section 305 of that Act;
“securities lending or repurchase arrangement” has the same meaning as in section 10N(12);
“Singapore Government securities” has the same meaning as in section 43N;
“structured product” means a sum of money paid on terms under which —
(a)
it may not be repaid in full and the return from which is, partly or wholly, determined by the performance of any embedded derivative instrument; and
(b)
its repayment may be in money or money’s worth,
but does not include any sum paid in respect of any debt securities, units of a real estate investment trust, units of a unit trust, loan, stand-alone financial derivative or such other financial product as the Minister may by regulations prescribe;
“unit trust” has the same meaning as in section 10B.
[31/98; 32/99; 21/2003; 49/2004; 34/2005; 7/2007; 53/2007]