On 5 March 2025, the Singapore Government announced changes to the regime for the Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty (ABSD) remission timelines for licensed housing developers for the following scenarios:-
- For Complex projects; and
- For approval of building works for housing projects, including smaller projects with total gross floor area (GFA) under 30,000 sqm, submitted through CORENET X.
1. For complex projects
Sites acquired by licensed housing developers will be eligible for extensions to their commencement, sale and completion timelines for ABSD remission under this scenario if the following requirements are met:-
- The Site is purchased on or after 6 March 2025 for housing development by licensed housing developers
- The Site falls within one of the following 4 categories of
Complex Projects:-
- Category 1: En bloc redevelopments where (i) the site yields at least 700 residential units upon redevelopment, and (ii) the number of residential units upon redevelopment is at least 1.5 times the number of residential units of the existing development. This is determined based on the number of residential (dwelling) units allowable based on URA's approval at the Outline Application stage (in the form of an Advice or Outline Planning Permission) or Development Application Stage (in the form of Provisional Permission or Written Permission);
- Category 2: Projects with complex technical or infrastructural requirements, as defined in Table below:-
| Type of project | Definition |
|---|---|
| Sites integrated with major public transport facilities | Sites that require the housing developer to structurally integrate major public transport facilities (being MRT or LRT station, Bus Interchange or other major public transport infrastructure) with the development, such as by building and/or relocating the Bus Interchange, building upon pre-provided loading provisions on top of a live Rapid Transit System (RTS) station; building and/or relocating RTS ancillary structures, which includes but are not limited to entrance/exit structures, fire escape staircases, cooling towers and vent shafts, with the relocated structures factored upfront in the design of the development. |
| Sites with requirements to implement major public facilities | Sites that require the housing developer to design and construct major pedestrian connectivity facilities/structures that serve the general public (such as underpasses or above-grade connections that serve pedestrians and cyclists, and/or incorporate urban landscaping that is accessible to the public), and/or major public facilities to be handed over to government agencies (such as hawker centres, police stations, community centres, polyclinics, public parks, etc). This does not apply to public facilities needed to support the subject development, such as service roads, drainage systems and sewers. |
| Sites with requirements to implement district-level infrastructure | Sites that require the housing developer to design and construct district-level infrastructure such as (i) district-level cooling systems; and/or (ii) District Pneumatic Waste Conveyance Systems; and/or (iii) common services tunnel; and/or (iv) district centralised vehicle parking facility, that serve adjacent or nearby developments within the area. |
| Sites with requirements to undertake extensive conservation works | Sites that require the housing developer to carry out restoration works to conserved buildings with the conserved GFA totalling more than or equals to 10,000 sqm GFA or at least 20% of the total development's GFA. |
- Category 3: Projects approved under URA's Strategic Development Incentive (SDI) scheme; and
- Category 4: Projects that aim to achieve higher productivity targets, through the adoption of nascent construction technologies, methodologies or progressive practices. These include (but not limited to) (i) high standardisation of building components, which could be replicated across projects, (ii) collaborative contracting and (iii) robotics and automation deployment.
The applicable extensions under the aforesaid scenario will be:-
- 6-months to the commencement, completion and sale ABSD remission timelines if only 1 of the 4 Categories set out in the above Paragraph 1(b) is met, and
- 12-months to the commencement, sale and completion ABSD timelines if 2 or more of the 4 Categories set out in the above Paragraph 1(b) are met.
2. For housing projects submitted through CORENET X
Private residential sites acquired by licensed housing developers submitted through CORENET X for approval are eligible for a 6-months extension to the commencement, completion and sale ABSD remission timelines, if all of the following requirements are met:-
- The project entirely undergoes the CORENET X approval process for building works (that is, submit and secure clearance for Design and Construction Gateways);
- The first submission is made during the respective transition
period
- For projects with a GFA of 30,000 sqm or more, the transition period is from 18 Dec 2023 to 31 Dec 2025 (inclusive); and
- For projects with a GFA of less than 30,000 sqm, the transition period is from 18 Dec 2023 to 31 Dec 2026 (inclusive); and
- Projects have a minimum of 6 months left of its 2-year commencement timeline, at the point when the first submission is made under the CORENET X approval process for building works.
The Government has stated its stance that the extension to the ABSD remission timelines granted under CORENET X cannot be combined and added to the extensions granted for the Complex Projects. Unfortunately, the Government did not explain such stance. The extension of time given for projects under CORENET X is meant to cater to the additional time required for the approval process, before commencement of any building works or of any sale process. Such time extension (for CORENET X cases) does not give any advantage to a housing developer doing a Complex Project, which will require more time not only in construction but also in the planning and sale processes. The two bases for extension of time are independent of each other. We respectfully urge the Government to reconsider the aforesaid stance, and to allow extension of time to the ABSD remission timelines granted under CORENET X to be added to the extension of time to the ABSD remission timelines granted for the Complex Projects.
We also urge the Government to review and simplify the requirements under Category 1 Complex Projects. While we can appreciate the need to specify a large number (namely 700 units) for the size of the proposed housing project, we are unable to see the relevance of considering the number of units in the existing project which does not affect in any way the speed of construction or the sale process of the new housing development. In a way, this superfluous requirement may lead to housing developers wanting to build more smaller units just to fulfil the "1.5 times" requirement, thereby affecting unnecessarily the design autonomy of housing developers.
For the extension of ABSD remission timelines for projects submitted through CORENET X, the Government may wish to reconsider the need to target smaller developments with total GFA under 30,000 sqm. If the intention is to encourage full and prompt adoption of use of CORENET X, it is good to extend the more generous transition period of 18 Dec 2023 to 31 Dec 2026 (inclusive) to all housing projects, irrespective of their size.
Last but not least, we hope that the Government can consider extension of time for ABSD remission timeline for sale of housing projects situated in the Core Central Region (CCR), the sales of which have been more adversely impacted by the harsh ABSD rates for foreigners which comprise the key target market of developers of such CCR projects. We believe that most, if not all of the requests received by the Government or IRAS for extension of time for sale of housing projects for ABSD remission come from developers of CCR housing projects.
Nevertheless, we are happy to note that the recently announced changes as aforesaid discussed is a step in the right direction to ensure that housing developers can meet their obligations for the upfront remission of the ABSD.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
