Annual Renewal for Certificates of Entitlement for Commercial Goods Vehicles

Mr David Ong asked the Minister for Transport whether LTA will consider allowing a commercial goods vehicle owner to extend the vehicle's Certificate of Entitlement on an annual basis rather than on a block of five or 10 years especially for vehicles with a usage life that is shorter than the minimum five-year extension.

Mr Lui Tuck Yew: Since February 2013, owners of Category C vehicles (goods vehicles and private buses) are allowed repeated 5-year renewals of their Certificates of Entitlement (COE). Should they deregister their vehicles before the end of the COE period, they will receive a pro-rated refund of the premium paid. Therefore, owners are paying only for the COE that they have used.

Allowing goods vehicle owners to renew COEs on an annual basis, as suggested by Mr Ong, may lead to greater variability in deregistrations, as owners decide on deregistration or renewal from year to year depending on the prevailing COE premium, amongst other considerations. This may cause the Category C COE supply to become more volatile and less predictable, leading to more uncertainty for businesses.