The Government is seeking public feedback on a proposed amendment that will ease the sharing of information provided by traders.

Currently, the Regulations of Imports and Exports Act (RIEA) prohibits Singapore Customs from disclosing information provided by traders to public agencies, unless the traders give their consent in writing. This could hamper and delay investigations into public health and safety threats, for instance.

"For example, (for) pandemic flu and food contamination incidents, public agencies may need traders' declaration information to trace movement of food supplies and specific items in order to deal with the crisis," said the Ministry of Trade and Information in a statement on Monday.

The statement also reassured traders that safeguards will be in place to make sure that the information shared will remain "well-protected". Anyone interested in providing feedback to the proposed amendment may do so till Aug 20 this year. The public consultation paper and draft legislation is available at www.mti.gov.sg