Authentication of documents
Open ↗51.—(1) Any document which —(a)
purports to bear the signature or facsimile signature of the competent authority or any officer or person authorised under section 5(2) or (4); or
(b)
is or purports to be authenticated in such other manner as may be prescribed,
is deemed, until the contrary is proved, to have been duly prepared, issued or served by the competent authority.
[17/2005]
(2) In any proceedings under this Act, the contents of any such document are presumed to be correct until the contrary is proved.
Service of documents
Open ↗52.—(1) Without affecting subsection (2), any notice or other document required or authorised to be served or given under this Act, and every summons issued by a court in connection with any offence under this Act, may be served or given —(a)
by delivering it to the person on whom it is to be served or to whom it is to be given;
(b)
by leaving it at the usual or last known place of residence of that person or, in a case where an address for service has been given by that person, at that address;
(c)
by sending it by registered post addressed to that person at that person’s usual or last known place of residence or, in the case where an address for service has been given by that person, at that address;
(d)
in the case of an incorporated company or body, by delivering it to the registered or principal office of the company or body, or by sending it by registered post addressed to the company or body at that office; or
(e)
in the case of an unincorporated body, by delivering it to the registered address of the unincorporated body or by sending it by registered post to the unincorporated body at that address.
(2) Where the notice or document is required to be served on or given to a person who is the occupier of any premises comprised in any land, the notice or document is taken to be duly served on that person if it is addressed to that person and is affixed conspicuously to some object on the land.
(3) Any notice, document or summons sent by registered post to a person, company or body in accordance with subsection (1) is deemed to be duly served on or given to that person, company or body at the time when it would, in the ordinary course of post, be delivered and in proving service of the same it is sufficient to prove that the envelope containing the notice, document or summons was properly addressed to that person, company or body, stamped and posted by registered post.
Use of electronic service for making applications, etc.
Open ↗52A.—(1) The competent authority may permit an application, lodgment or submission to or with the competent authority under this Act to be made through the electronic service described in section 42AA of the Building Control Act 1989.
(2) Where a person uses the electronic service mentioned in subsection (1) to make an application, lodgment or submission to or with the competent authority, the competent authority may serve on the person any acknowledgment, approval, certificate, direction, notice, permit or other document in connection with the application, lodgment or submission, by sending it to the person’s account with the electronic service.
(3) Service of a document on a person under subsection (2) takes effect at the time when an electronic record of the document reaches the person’s account with the electronic service.
(4) This section applies despite anything to the contrary in this Act.
(5) In this section, “electronic record” has the meaning given by section 2(1) of the Electronic Transactions Act 2010.[Act 23 of 2023 wef 18/12/2023]
Exemption
Open ↗53. The Minister may, from time to time, by notification in the Gazette, exempt any land or lands either generally or for a specified period from the operation of all or any of the provisions of this Act.
Exclusion of liability
Open ↗54. Where the competent authority provides information of any provision or content of the Master Plan or any entry in the records kept by the competent authority under section 23 to any person in any manner or form whatsoever, the competent authority and any officer authorised under section 5(2) shall not be liable for any loss or damage suffered by that person or any other person by reasons of errors or omissions of whatever nature or however caused if such information was provided in good faith and in the ordinary course of the discharge of the duties of the competent authority or the officer concerned as a delegate of the competent authority.
Protection from liability
Open ↗55. No matter or thing done or omitted to be done by the competent authority or by any officer or person authorised under section 5(2) or (4) subjects the competent authority or the officer or person personally to any action, liability, claim or demand whatsoever if it were done or omitted to be done bona fide for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this Act.[17/2005]
Power of Magistrate’s Court and District Court
Open ↗56. Despite the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code 2010, a Magistrate’s Court or a District Court has powers to impose the maximum penalties provided for an offence under this Act.
Composition of offences
Open ↗57.—(1) The competent authority may compound any offence under this Act that is prescribed as a compoundable offence by collecting from a person reasonably suspected of having committed the offence a sum not exceeding the lower of the following:(a)
one half of the amount of the maximum fine that is prescribed for the offence;
(b)
$5,000.[7/2017]
(2) On payment of the sum of money, no further proceedings are to be taken against that person in respect of the offence.[7/2017]
(3) All sums collected under this section are to be paid into the Consolidated Fund.[7/2017]
Offences by officers, etc., of bodies corporate
Open ↗58. Where an offence under this Act has been committed by a body corporate, a partnership or unincorporated association of persons, any person who, at the time of the commission of the offence, was a director, manager, partner, secretary or other similar officer thereof, or was purporting to act in any such capacity, shall also be guilty of that offence unless the person proves that —(a)
the offence was committed without the person’s consent or connivance; and
(b)
the person exercised all such diligence to prevent the commission of the offence as the person ought to have exercised having regard to the nature of the person’s functions in that capacity and to all the circumstances.
Correction of errors in register
Open ↗59.—(1) The competent authority may at any time —(a)
correct any erroneous entry in any record, register, plan or document required to be kept or maintained under this Act; or
(b)
add to the record, register, plan or document any matter which has been erroneously omitted.
(2) Any correction must be made in such manner as to leave the erroneous matter cancelled and the correct entry clearly legible.
(3) The competent authority must indicate the date on which any correction or addition is made to the record, register, plan or document.
Charges, fees and penalties to be paid into Consolidated Fund
Open ↗60.—(1) There must be paid into the Consolidated Fund —(a)
[Deleted by Act 11 of 2021 wef 01/08/2022]
(b)
subject to any agreement made between the Minister and any statutory authority mentioned in section 5(3) and to any direction of the Minister, all fines, fees, charges and other moneys collected under this Act.
(2) No agreement or direction under subsection (1) applies to any fees, charges or other moneys which are expressly required by any provision of this Act to be paid into the Consolidated Fund.
Amendment of Schedules
Open ↗60A.—(1) The Minister may at any time, by order in the Gazette, amend the Schedules.[30/2003]
(2) The Minister may, in any order made under subsection (1), make such incidental, consequential or supplementary provisions as may be necessary or expedient.[30/2003]
(3) Any order made under subsection (1) must be presented to Parliament as soon as possible after publication in the Gazette.[30/2003]
Rules
Open ↗61.—(1) The Minister may make rules generally to give effect to the provisions of this Act and for prescribing anything that is to be prescribed.
(2) Without limiting subsection (1), the Minister may by such rules provide for —(a)
the development of land;
(b)
the control of density of buildings on land;
(c)
the regulation of the height, design, appearance and siting of buildings;
(d)
the control of means of access to land or buildings;
(e)
the protection of ancient monuments and land and buildings of historic or architectural interest;
(f)
the conservation of buildings, premises or land;
(g)
the form and manner in which applications for planning permission, conservation permission or subdivision permission must be made;
(h)
the manner in which the competent authority must deal with applications for planning permission, conservation permission and subdivision permission;
(i)
the types of applications for planning permission or conservation permission that are not subject to the requirement under section 13(2) to appoint a qualified person or for which a different type of qualified person may be appointed;
(j)
the types of development or works within a conservation area that are not subject to the requirement under section 19A(1) to appoint a qualified person or for which a different type of qualified person may be appointed;
(k)
the fees or charges to be paid for any matter or thing done by the competent authority or the Minister under this Act;
(l)
the payment of a deposit by any person applying for planning permission, conservation permission or subdivision permission and the circumstances under which such deposit may be forfeited by the competent authority;
(m)
the manner in which appeals may be made and determined under this Act and the information to be supplied by the competent authority in connection therewith;
(n)
the requirements to be complied with for an application for planning permission, conservation permission or subdivision permission;
(o)
the types of applications for planning permission, conservation permission or subdivision permission which must be accompanied by such declarations of an appropriate qualified person on such matters as the competent authority may specify in relation to the application;
(p)
the circumstances under which the competent authority may not accept a qualified person’s declaration required under this Act;
(q)
the circumstances under which an individual is deemed not to be a qualified person for the purposes of section 13 or 19A;
(r)
the duties, responsibilities and liabilities of a qualified person in relation to the declaration mentioned in paragraph (o);
(s)
the circumstances under which a qualified person’s declaration may not be lodged with or submitted to the competent authority as being in satisfaction of any requirement or condition specified in any notification made under section 21(6); and
(t)
the duties, responsibilities and liabilities of a qualified person in relation to the declaration made by the qualified person and lodged with or submitted to the competent authority in satisfaction of any requirement or condition specified in any notification made under section 21(6).[30/2003; 7/2017]
(3) Rules relating to the making of applications and appeals, to the notification of decisions thereon and to the granting of written permissions may allow or require the application, appeal, notification or other information to be made and transmitted by such electronic means and in such manner as may be prescribed, and may provide for the manner in which they are to be authenticated or certified.
(4) The Minister may, in making any rules under this Act, provide that any contravention of any rule shall be an offence and may prescribe punishment by a fine not exceeding $20,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or both.[30/2003]
(5) All rules made under this Act must be presented to Parliament as soon as possible after publication in the Gazette.[30/2003]
Source: Singapore Statutes Online (Attorney-General's Chambers), © Government of Singapore.
