Singaporean Updates: New Early Turnover Scheme From 24 April 2013 (24 Apr 2013)

News Release
New Early Turnover Scheme From 24 April 2013

Incentivizing early replacement of old Category ‘C’ diesel vehicles with cleaner models complying with at least Euro V diesel standards or their equivalent

JOINT NEWS RELEASE BETWEEN NEA AND LTA

Singapore, 24 April 2013 - As announced by the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources and the Minister for Transport during the 2013 Committee of Supply debates, the National Environment Agency (NEA) and the Land Transport Authority (LTA) will implement a new Early Turnover Scheme to encourage the early replacement of old Category ‘C’ (Cat C) diesel vehicles with models that comply with at least Euro V diesel standards or their equivalent.  

The scheme will run from 24 April 2013 to 23 April 2015. This is one of NEA’s abatement measures to reduce ambient levels of particulate matter and achieve Singapore’s 2020 air quality targets.

2.       Under the Scheme, owners can deregister their Cat C diesel vehicles registered before 1 January 2001, which are predominantly the Pre-Euro and Euro I models, and register a replacement Cat C vehicle by paying a discounted Prevailing Quota Premium (PQP) (i.e. without the need to bid for a Cat C Certificate of Entitlement (COE)). Please refer to Annex A for the eligibility criteria for the scheme.

3.      Owners will be allowed to transfer their eligible existing vehicle’s unused period of its COE to the replacement vehicle.  In addition, the owners will get a bonus COE period for their replacement vehicle equal to a proportion (see (a) and (b) below) of the existing vehicle’s remaining 20-year lifespan at the point of deregistration.  The transferred COE and bonus COE periods will be capped at 10 years in total. 

(a) For existing vehicles with a Maximum Laden Weight (MLW) of 3,500 kg or less, 10% of its remaining 20-year lifespan at deregistration.

(b) For existing vehicles with a MLW of more than 3,500 kg, 30% of its remaining 20-year lifespan at deregistration.

The bonus proportion is set higher for heavier vehicles to further encourage their owners to replace them, as they generally emit more particulate matter[1] and are more expensive to replace than lighter ones.

Please refer to Annex B for how the PQP payable is calculated, and Annex C for examples.

4.      The value of the replacement vehicle’s 10-year COE will be based on the discounted PQP paid at the point of registration and the COE rebate[2] granted to the existing vehicle at the point of deregistration, if any. This value will be used to compute the COE rebate upon deregistration of the replacement vehicle.  Please refer to Annex B for how the value of the 10-year COE for the replacement vehicle is calculated, and Annex C for examples.

New “Calculator – Early Turnover Scheme” e-Service

5.       From 24 April 2013, 6pm, a new e-Service known as “Calculator – Early Turnover Scheme” will be available at the ONE.MOTORING portal for vehicle owners to find out the amount of unused COE period and bonus COE period they can use to offset the PQP payable for the replacement vehicle.

6.       Vehicle owners and motor dealers can also call the LTA at 1800-CALL LTA (2255-582) for enquiries on the Scheme.

Higher Air Quality Targets

7.       On 23 August 2012, the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources (MEWR) and the NEA announced the adoption of higher air quality targets, in line with the World Health Organisation Air Quality Guidelines. Please refer to Annex D for Singapore’s ambient air quality targets. To achieve these targets by 2020, NEA has a set of abatement measures to achieve sustainable growth and development and maintain economic competitiveness while ensuring public health.

8.       The Early Turnover Scheme is one of the measures that aim to reduce emissions of particulate matter with diameter less than 2.5 microns (PM2.5) and meet Singapore’s long term targets. Diesel vehicles contribute to approximately half of all PM2.5 emissions in Singapore. With the Early Turnover Scheme, owners of about 38,000 Cat C diesel vehicles (with the more pollutive Pre-Euro and Euro I emission standards) would be incentivized to replace their vehicles earlier. The early replacement of older and more polluting diesel models with newer models that comply with tighter emission standards will reduce ambient PM levels and improve air quality.

Annex A: Eligibility Criteria for Early Turnover Scheme

Annex B: How the PQP Payable and the Value of the 10-Year COE for the Replacement Vehicle are Derived
Annex C: Examples on How to Compute the PQP Payable and the Value of the 10-Year COE for the Replacement Vehicle
Annex D: Singapore’s Ambient Air Quality Targets

For Annex A-D, please visit: 

http://app2.nea.gov.sg/news_detail_2013.aspx?news_sid=20130424610964950807

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For more information, please contact

Call Centre: 1800-CALL NEA (1800-2255 632)
Email: Contact_NEA@nea.gov.sg

For more information:
http://app2.nea.gov.sg/news_detail_2013.aspx?news_sid=20130424610964950807