INTERNATIONAL ENTERPRISE SINGAPORE BOARD (AMENDMENT) BILL

Order for Second Reading read.

The Second Minister for Finance (Mr Lim Hng Kiang): Mr Speaker, Sir, on behalf of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

The Bill will amend the International Enterprise Singapore Board Act, or IES Board Act in short, to effect the formation of Singapore Customs on 1st April 2003. I shall now elaborate on the amendments in the Bill.

Singapore Customs will be a department under the Ministry of Finance. It will be a merger of:

(a) the revenue enforcement and trade documentation branches of the Customs and Excise Department; and

(b) the Trade Facilitation Division and Statistical Audit Unit, of the IES Board.

Sir, the role of Singapore Customs will be revenue collection and enforcement, and trade facilitation, including trade enforcement measures related to free trade agreements.

Clause 2 of the Bill inserts a new Part V-A into the IES Board Act to transfer some of the undertakings and employees of IES to Singapore Customs. The undertakings include all property used or managed by the Trade Facilitation Division and the Statistical Audit Unit, as well as all assets and obligations of the Board relating to these departments.

The transfer of the employees will be on terms no less favourable than those enjoyed by them prior to the transfer.

Clause 3 of the Bill amends other Acts to effect the transfer of relevant responsibilities from IE Singapore to Singapore Customs. These Acts are:

(a) the Regulation of Imports and Exports Act;

(b) the Statistics Act; and

(c) the Strategic Goods (Control) Act.;

Sir, I beg to move.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House.

The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. - [Mr Lim Hng Kiang].

Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed.