The government will make at least S$7.5 million (US$5.6 million) in refunds to individuals and businesses that were wrongly charged with the Goods and Services Tax (GST) for fees paid to six government agencies.
The agencies – the Housing and Development Board, Land Transport Authority, Urban Redevelopment Authority, Singapore Food Agency, Office of the Public Guardian and the Council for Estate Agencies – will start making refunds from March.
The Ministry of Finance (MOF) said on Wednesday (Feb 14) that “inconsistencies in the application of GST on certain government fees” were uncovered last November during an internal review. The review was concluded in January and 18 fees across six agencies were found to be wrongly charged with GST.
In a press release, the ministry and agencies involved apologised for the erroneous charging. “All agencies have taken immediate steps to cease the charging of GST on the affected fees from today,” MOF said.
GST is generally levied on services provided by government agencies, such as fees for the use of public sports facilities or rental fees for hawker stalls and exhibition spaces.
But it should not be charged for services that are regulatory, such as application fees for a professional licence, said the ministry.
“The 18 fees were initially deemed by agencies to be processing fees, but on review, were found to be regulatory in nature,” it said.
CNA
