TWO Bills amending the Legal Profession Act (LPA) and the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Act were introduced in Parliament on Monday.

The changes to the LPA include replacing the law pupillage programme - in which fresh graduates have to do a stint at law firms - with a practice training period of at least six months before a new law graduate can be admitted to the Bar.

The decision to do away with pupillage was announced by Law Minister K. Shanmugam during the Budget debate in February, following proposals made in 2007 by the Committee to Develop the Singapore Legal Sector headed by Justice V. K. Rajah.

Mr Shanmugam said then that with the change, law firms will have to take on greater responsibility and ensure trainees 'have a constructive and structured learning programme'.

The Bill also proposes transferring to the Law Minister certain powers of the Board of Legal Education on the admission of advocates and solicitors.

The GST (Amendment) Bill includes two changes announced in the Budget Statement this year.

One is to extend the zero-rating treatment - charging GST at zero per cent instead of the usual 7 per cent - to all aircraft used wholly for international travel, as well as the sale and lease of aircraft parts.

The purpose is to support the growth of the aerospace industry here.

Two, GST will be suspended on goods removed temporarily from zero-GST licensed warehouses for auctions and exhibitions.

Other changes in the GST Bill include letting trusts be registered in their own name, instead of just in the name of their trustees.

The change will allow the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore to register trusts in its own name, while continuing to make the trustee liable for the GST matters of the trust.