MOTOR-CARS OF 10 YEARS OLD AND ABOVE

Mr Chiam See Tong asked the Minister for Communications whether he will allow owners of motor-cars, which are 10years old and above at the time when the motor-car quota system was introduced, to lay up their cars for further registration without first paying for a Certificate of Entitlement after the 2 years' grace period.

The Minister for Communications (Dr Yeo Ning Hong): Sir, under the vehicle quota system, all registered vehicles in Singapore must have a valid Certificate of Entitlement (COE). This is necessary to control the vehicle population in Singapore. When a vehicle owner deregisters his vehicle and surrenders his COE to the ROV, this COE is then added back to the pool which is made available for future tenders.

Vehicle owners will be given a rebate of the cost of their COE for any period that the vehicle is not used, during the term of the COE. This would normally be due to the deregistration of the vehicle before the expiry of the COE. Such rebate would also apply to the temporary laying-up of the vehicle. This rebate is calculated on a prorated basis, according to the number of full calendar months that the vehicle is not used. The rebate would be given when the COE is surrendered back to the ROV.

In effect, a vehicle that is laid-up temporarily will enjoy a rebate of both the road tax as well as the COE cost for the period laid up.