Singapore "concerned" over Malaysia"s move to impose vehicle entry fees

The Ministry of Transport says it is concerned whether the entry fee on foreign-registered vehicles is directed towards Singaporean vehicles. 

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SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Transport has issued a statement citing concern over whether Malaysia’s decision to impose an entry fee on foreign-registered vehicles is directed towards Singaporean vehicles, as it was reported that it would only be levied in Johor Baru.

A spokesperson from the ministry said it has contacted its counterparts in Malaysia for details of the fee.

The statement also explained that the basis of Singapore’s Vehicle Entry Permit (VEP) and Goods Vehicle Permit (GVP) fees is not discriminatory, but serves to equalise the cost of owning and using foreign-registered vehicles on Singapore roads with that for Singapore-registered vehicles.

The statement said: “Singapore-registered vehicles are subject to significantly different costs such as the Certificate of Entitlement (COE) and vehicle taxes, amongst others. In fact, the last time the VEP fee for cars was changed in 2004, it was lowered, largely because of the lower cost of COEs during that period.”

The spokesperson added that as the cost difference in owning and using foreign-registered and Singapore-registered cars and goods vehicles has widened in recent years, this had given rise to the need to revise the VEP fee for cars and the GVP fee for goods vehicles, from S$20 to S$35 a day for the former, and from S$10 to S$40 per month for the latter. The VEP fee for foreign-registered motorcycles remains unchanged.

“All foreign-registered cars and motorcycles continue to enjoy the following VEP-free days and VEP-free hours:
a) Saturdays, Sundays and Singapore Public Holidays;
b) 10 normal weekdays per calendar year; and
c) Between 5pm and 2am on all other days (these VEP-free hours are extended to start at 12 noon instead of 5pm during the June and December Singapore school holidays).

“The above works out to a total of around 125 days per year that are VEP-free on top of the daily VEP-free hours,” the statement said.
 

- CNA/by

Singapore "concerned" over Malaysia"s move to impose vehicle entry fees