In brief

The Singapore government has recently amended regulations and an order that implement the relief period ("Relief Period") prescribed under Part 2 of the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Act 2020 ("Act") as well as bring into force a specific part of a section of the Act, effectively providing for a second extension to the Relief Period.

The amended regulations and order also refine the categories of scheduled contracts under the Act ("Scheduled Contracts") for which a party may continue to serve notifications for relief on the counterparties to suspend certain legal and enforcement actions for the first party's inability to perform contractual obligations where the inability is materially caused by a COVID-19 event.

Please see our earlier Alert: Extension of Relief Period for specified categories of Scheduled Contracts under the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Act 2020 for fuller details on the Scheduled Contracts, the scope of relief and the repayment scheme for rental arrears.

Updated extension of relief periods and categories of contracts

The Relief Period prescribed under the Act, originally six months or from 20 April 2020 to 19 October 2020, has already been extended once (see our Alert).

Following the coming into force of a specific part of a section in the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) (Amendment No. 3) Act 2020 and issue of the following amendments:

we summarise in the table below the latest relief periods and deadlines as well as the updated categories of Scheduled Contracts for sectors that are expected to continue to be affected by the pandemic.

Categories of contract

Relief Period

Deadline to file an application for an assessor's determination
  • Loans to enterprise secured by certain collateral in Singapore
  • Leases and licenses of non-residential property
  • Hire-purchase agreements and conditional sale agreements for plant, machinery or fixed assets used for manufacturing, production or other business purposes, or a commercial vehicle entered into with banks or finance companies regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)

Up to 19 November 2020

19 November 2020
  • Event contracts
  • Tourism-related contracts

31 December 2020

28 February 2021
  • Hire-purchase agreements and conditional sale agreements for plant, machinery or fixed assets used for manufacturing, production or other business purposes, or a commercial vehicle excluding those entered into with banks or finance companies regulated by MAS
  • Rental agreements for commercial equipment or commercial vehicles

31 January 2021

31 January 2021
  • Sale and purchase agreements between purchasers and housing developers/commercial developers in respect of one or more units of housing accommodation/commercial property

31 March 2021

31 March 2021
  • Construction or supply contracts, or any performance bond granted thereto
  • Options to purchase issued by housing developers/commercial developers to intending purchasers for one or more units of housing accommodation/commercial property

31 March 2021

31 May 2021

Recommended actions

Parties and counterparties should understand whether their contractual arrangements fall under a category of Scheduled Contracts, and if so, whether the relief period(s) affect their legal and enforcement rights in their respective contracts and under general law.