About 950,000 HDB households to get third tranche of GST vouchers in October

SINGAPORE: About 950,000 Singaporean households living in Housing Board (HDB) flats will receive their third quarterly Goods and Services Tax Voucher (GSTV) - U-Save and GSTV - service and conservancy charges (S&CC) rebates in October. 

The rebates are part of the permanent GSTV scheme and Household Support Package (HSP) announced during the 2022 Budget in February, said the Ministry of Finance (MOF) on Friday (Sep 30). 

They will provide "continuing help" to defray GST and other living expenses of lower- to middle-income Singaporean households, the ministry added. 

Singapore is facing a rising cost of living amid higher global energy and food prices as well as supply chain disruptions.

The authorities have said that an upcoming increase to the GST will not be delayed despite rising inflation, and have announced several support measures to help Singaporeans with rising costs.

Under the enhanced GSTV scheme, eligible households will receive GSTV – S&CC rebates to offset between 1.5 and 3.5 months of their S&CC each year. The rebates are disbursed in April, July, October and January.

Eligible households will receive double their regular U-Save in FY2022.

This amounts to about eight to 10 months' worth of utility bills for the average household living in 1- and 2-room HDB flats, said the Finance Ministry.

For the average household living in 3- and 4-room HDB flats, this amounts to about four to six months' worth of utility bills. 

Households whose members own more than one property are not eligible for GSTV – U-Save, said MOF.

Additional rebates will be credited to the eligible households at the same time as their regular GSTV – U-Save in the usual four quarters. 

The Assurance Package U-Save will be provided quarterly starting from January 2023 and ending in January 2026, said the Finance Ministry. 

In addition to the GSTV – U-Save and S&CC rebates for eligible households, each Singaporean household was also given a one-off S$100 Household Utilities Credit as part of the S$1.5 billion package announced in June to help Singaporeans cope with higher inflation.

Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said at a press conference in June that the support measures in the package are "tilted" towards helping lower-income and vulnerable groups as they would be disproportionately impacted by the effects of inflation. 

GSTV - S&CC rebates will be credited directly into households’ S&CC accounts managed by their respective Town Councils. Households do not need to take any action to benefit from the rebates.

Households whose members own more than one property are not eligible for GSTV - U-Save, said MOF. 

Residents can check or enquire on their eligibility for the GSTV – S&CC Rebate by logging into My HDBPage with their Singpass. Those with specific queries on their household’s S&CC payment or account status can contact their respective Town Councils.

For queries on the GSTV - U-Save, residents can contact SP Group at 6671 7177 or send an email to customer support.