Chee Hong Tat on Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (Amendment) Bill

The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) will have more powers to effectively disburse grants and mitigate the risks of fraud and abuse. Second Minister for Finance Chee Hong Tat said IRAS has and will continue to play an important role in disbursing grants and supporting Singapore’s enterprises. The proposed legislative amendments are necessary to empower IRAS to do so effectively, he said in Parliament on Friday (Feb 16). Under the Bill, the disbursement of grants becomes a key function of IRAS - it will administer scheduled public schemes and will be able to effectively audit and investigate cases of fraud and abuse of enterprise grants. Currently, it lacks the legislative levers to investigate fraud and abuse and refers such cases to the police. The Bill proposes giving IRAS the power to investigate offences, including accessing premises, conducting inspections, seizing documents and making arrests. These powers are similar to those for tax offences. It will also be an offence to interfere with or refuse to comply with IRAS' investigations of serious grant offences. Those who are found guilty will be liable to a fine not exceeding S$10,000 and/or jail of up to 12 months. The amendments also set out the specific offences and punishments for obtaining or assisting another person to obtain grants under the scheduled public schemes. Those convicted will be liable to a penalty equal to one, two or three times the amount of payout overpaid, as well as a fine or jail. Another key amendment provides IRAS with the powers to recover overpaid grants and impose interest on outstanding amounts beyond the prescribed payment period. Mr Chee said the proposed legal powers signal the serious nature of the issue and encourage firms to return any overpaid monies in a timely manner.