Parliament: Almost 4,000 electronic notifications for relief from contracts served
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Some 3,943 electronic notifications for relief have been served since the Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) Act came into effect.
ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH
SINGAPORE - Most of the businesses and individuals who could not fulfil their contractual obligations due to Covid-19 safe distancing measures sought relief from hire-purchase agreements for commercial plant or machinery and leases of non-residential property, Senior Minister of State for Law Edwin Tong said on Thursday (June 4).
He told Parliament that 3,943 electronic notifications for relief had been served since the Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) Act came into effect five weeks ago.
After a notification is served, other parties of the contract cannot take certain types of action to enforce the obligation during the period of relief, such as commencing or continuing action in court between April 20 and Oct 19.
This may be extended by another six months later.
The Act covers contracts for rentals in the industrial and commercial sectors, construction and supply contracts, as well as certain secured loan facilities granted by a bank or a finance company to small and medium-sized enterprises.
The ministry cannot keep track of the notifications served through hard copy, he added.
Mr Tong, who is also Senior Minister of State for Health, provided the breakdown of notifications served.
He said 2,107 notifications had been served for hire-purchase and conditional sales agreements while 1,254 notifications were for leases or licences of non-residential property.
Another 250 notifications were served for event- and tourism-related contracts, he added.
There were 213 notifications served for relief from construction and supply contracts, and 97 notifications for certain secured loans to small and medium-sized enterprises.
Mr Tong said the remaining 22 notifications served were for sales and purchase agreements between purchasers and housing developers for housing accommodation, among others, since May 13, when the Act was expanded.
He added: "We would like to encourage contracting parties to be fair and reasonable to each other, considering that the impact of Covid-19 was an event that no one could expect."
