REGISTRATION OF IMPORTS AND EXPORTS RULES, 1967

7.03 p.m.

The Minister for Finance (Dr Goh Keng Swee): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move,

That Parliament, pursuant to subsection t3) of section 5 of the Registration of Imports and Exports Ordinance (Cap. 261), resolves that the Registration of Imports and Exports Rules, 1967, published as Notification S 244 in the Gazette Subsidiary Legislation Supplement No. 76 of 14th December, 1967, as contained in Paper S.L. 60 of 1967, he approved.

Sir, the Registration of Imports and Exports Rules, 1967, embody the Imports and Exports Rules of 1935 together with a new provision for the documentation of trade between Singapore and West Malaysia. Until now, imports and exports to and from West Malaysia do not require Singapore per mits or Singapore documentation. The proposed documentation is to enable us to compile our own statistics of trade with West Malaysia. Such trade statistics are now compiled and supplied by the Statistics Department at Kuala Lurnpur. Documentation of our trade with West Malaysia is also made necessary by the export incentive scheme which is to be effective next year.

Under the amended Rules, importers and exporters will be required to submit documents to cover goods imported from or exported to West Malaysia. In the case of imports by road or rail, the document required will be submitted to the Customs and will merely be an additional copy of the export permit which the exporter in West Malaysia submits to Malaysian Customs. For exports to West Malaysia by road or rail, the document required will be a copy of the Malaysian Customs import permit. In case of imports or exports by sea or air, the trader will submit one copy of the Singapore Inward Declaration or Outward Declaration to the shipping or airline agent. The shipping or airline agent concerned will then forward the declarations to the Import and Export Office. All declarations will not have to be approved by the Import and Export Office. No fees are payable on these declarations. In this way, very little delay and no inconvenience will be caused to the traders.

We have already consulted the various Chambers of Commerce, shipping associations and the Airline Operators Committee, and they have agreed to the procedures proposed.

Sir, I beg to move.

Question put, and agreed to.

Resolved,

That Parliament, pursuant to subsection (3) of section 5 of the Registration of Imports and Exports Ordinance (Cap. 261), resolves that the Registration of Imports and Exports Rules, 1967, published as Notification S 244 in the Gazette Subsidiary Legislation Supplement No. 76 of 14th December, 1967, as contained in Paper S.L. 60 of 1967, be approved.