On or about 10 Aug 2021, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) has released the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (Assignment of Functions) (No. 2) Notification 2021 that comes into operation on 6 August 2021.
From 6 August 2021, the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) is assigned the function of administering the Rental Support Scheme (RSS) announced by the Ministry of Finance on 28 May 2021.
To support businesses with rental costs during the COVID-19 Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) (“P2(HA)”) periods, rental relief in the form of rental waiver or rental relief cash payout will be provided to Small and Medium Enterprises (“SMEs”) and eligible Non-Profit Organisations (“NPOs”) with an annual revenue not exceeding $100 million, who are tenant-occupiers of qualifying commercial properties.
For privately-owned commercial properties, some landlords have given rental waivers or rebates to support their tenants during the P2(HA) periods. IRAS will provide additional support and disburse rental support cash payouts directly to qualifying tenants and owner-occupiers under the RSS.
There are two payouts, one starting from 6 August 2021, while the second payout will be in October 2021.
Most qualifying tenants and owner-occupiers will receive the cash payout automatically without needing to submit an application. The cash payout will not be disbursed automatically to tenants who only rent part of a property, or to tenants who rent a mixed-use property (e.g. a shop-house for both retail and residential use), and/or to licensees, these businesses will need to submit an application to IRAS and provide supporting documents.
Source: IRAS, 12 August 2021