GreenSn0w

SINGAPORE: Should there have been more extensive public consultation on the upcoming GST hike?

That was the question posed by Nominated MP Gautam Banerjee, just before the passing of the GST Amendment Bill on Tuesday.

He wondered if the public consultation should have covered the policy behind the hike, from 5 to 7%, instead of just focusing on the legislative aspects.

Members of Parliament such as Non-Constituency MP Sylvia Lim also raised concerns about some GST-related charges imposed by the government.

Businesses in Singapore are responsible for ensuring that their returns are accurate and on time.

Those seeking an advance ruling on their GST payments will have to pay an application fee of $525.

There is also $131.25 per hour charge for any time IRAS officers spent on the case beyond the first four hours.

In response, the Minister of State for Finance Lim Hwee Hua said that those charges are aimed at weeding out frivolous requests and because of the amount of work involved.

She said: "IRAS levies a fee for advance rulings because more work is needed to do due diligence and such ruling applications are generally more complex and require more analysis. Let me recount the experience of the Australian system. When they implemented this legally binding advice system, there was an overwhelming increase in the number of requests. Therefore (for Singapore), the deterring nature of the fee is in place."