Singapore Law Blog

Amendments have been passed on 15 June 2004 to update the Trade Marks Act, the Patents Act, the Copyright Act, the Registered Designs Act and the Layout- Designs of Integrated Circuits Act.

A new Plant Varieties Protection Act and Manufacture of Optical Discs Act were also passed on 15 June 2004.

Amendments to allow for locum solicitors to practice passed by Singapore Parliament on 15 June 2004.

As a result of a drafting error in section 189 of the Companies Act, the set of documents available for inspection or purchase by the shareholders of a company was inadvertently extended to minutes of meeting of directors and managers.

To reduce e-mail spam in Singapore, the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) and the Attorney-General's Chambers of Singapore (AGC) are issuing a joint consultation paper which proposes a legislative framework to control e-mail spam in Singapore. The proposed legislative framework seeks to balance the legitimate interests and concerns of different groups such as e-mail users and ISPs on the one hand, and marketers on the other. Many jurisdictions such as Australia, the European Union, the United Kingdom, the United States, Japan and South Korea have enacted legislation for the control of e-mail spam.

The Ministry of Finance is conducting a public consultation exercise to seek public comments on the draft Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs) Bill 2004 which sets out the legal framework for LLPs in Singapore, as recommended by the Study Team on LLPs. MOF plans to table the draft Bill for First Reading in Parliament in the third quarter of 2004.

Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) is embarking on a public consultation of the proposed amendments to the Hire-Purchase Act to solicit feedback on the proposed law.

The Accounting & Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) a new statutory board under the Ministry of Finance will be officially launched by 2nd Minister of Finance, Mr Lim Hng Kiang on 12 May 2004.

The draft Human Cloning and Other Prohibited Practices Bill is now posted for public consultation. The Ministry of Health would like your comments on this draft Bill. The closing date for submission of feedback is 31 May 04.

During a speech at the BCA Awards 2004 on 6th May 2004, the Minister for National Developmen, Mr Mah Bow Tan, announced that broad consensus has been reached on key provisions of the proposed legislation. The bill is expected to be tabled in Parliament in the 3rd Quarter of 2004.

The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) is seeking feedback from the public on the proposed amendments to Rule 7 of the Control of Plants (Registration of Pesticides) Rules.

Singapore, 5 May 2004...The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) today issued regulations to set out the implementation details of the policy to separate financial and non-financial business of a bank, and to unwind cross-shareholdings within the local banking groups (i.e. the anti-commingling policy).

The Select Committee is inviting written representations from the public to give their views/comments on the Building Maintenance and Management Bill. Information on the bill can be found at www.bca.gov.sg The closing date for submission is 13 May 04.

Parliament has on 19 April 2004 passed amendments to the Constitution that will enlarge the pool of overseas-born children who enjoy the right to Singapore citizenship by descent.

The Ministry of Trade & Industry (MTI) would like to invite comments from the public on the draft Manufacture of Optical Discs Bill. The draft Bill and an introductory note of the legislation, are on the MTI website at www.mti.gov.sg. These materials can also be accessed at the Government Online Consultation Portal at www.feedback.gov.sg.

Comments should reach MTI no later than 12.00 noon, 11 May 2004.

Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) has launched the first round of public consultations on The draft Competition Bill ("draft Bill") to solicit feedback on the proposed law. The document "Competition Bill Consultation Paper" sets out the approach and framework of the draft Bill. We encourage members of the public, companies, as well as consumer and business associations to give feedback on the draft Bill. Submissions may be sent through the following means. The feedback page is here (at www.mti.gov.sg).

The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore is seeking feedback on its Consultation Paper on Proposed Tax Treatment on Benefits in Kind (BIK).

The Monetary Authority of Singapore invites feedback on its consultation paper on Amendments to the Code on Collective Investment Schemes.

Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority on 1 April 2004 issued a practice direction that requires all companies to publish its registration number on certain documents with effect from 1 October 2004.

Effective 1 April 2004, the Singapore Examinations & Assessment Board (SEAB) will function as a new statutory board under the Ministry of Education (MOE).

The Registry of Companies and Businesses (RCB) and The Public Accountants Board (PAB) have merged to form the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) on 1 April 2004.

IPOS officially announced on 29 March 2004 the released of four draft bills to seek public feedback by 27 April 2004 on the amendments to the upcoming intellectual property (IP) legislation.

The four draft bills are the Patents (Amendment) Bill 2004, Trade Marks (Amendment) Bill 2004, Plant Variety Protection Bill 2004 and IP (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bills 2004.

The Economic Development Board is broadening its incentive schemes to help Singapore-based law firms to expand. The scheme also applies to accounting and auditing firms.

As part of EDB's concerted efforts to develop professional services, a new Expansion Incentive for Partnerships (EIP) programme for audit, accounting and law firms has been launched. This programme allows such firms, typically constituted as partnerships, to enjoy a 50% tax exemption on the qualifying overseas income above a pre-determined base. Previously, tax incentives were only available to manufacturing and services corporations. The EIP programme aims to encourage audit, accounting and law firms to use Singapore as their central business hub to develop their business and proficiencies locally and service the regional market from here.

The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) and Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) are conducting a joint consultation on Electronic Contracting Issues. The consultation concerns possible amendments to the Electronic Transactions Act (ETA) relating to electronic contracting.

The Ministry of Manpower has amended the Second Schedule of the Workmen's Compensation Act to include Avian Influenza as one of the compensable occupational diseases.