Interest rate for GST refunds determined by banks’ average prime lending rate: Chee Hong Tat
Speaking in parliament, the Transport Minister and Second Minister for Finance also said the six agencies that had wrongly levied GST on some of their fees “should be able to refund the vast majority of the affected taxpayers”.
SINGAPORE: The interest rate set for the government refunds of wrongly collected Goods and Services Tax (GST) was determined by the average prime lending rate offered by major financial institutions here.
This was made known by Transport Minister and Second Minister for Finance Chee Hong Tat in parliament on Monday (Feb 26), as he responded to a question from MP Lim Biow Chuan (PAP-Mountbatten) on how the interest rate was computed.
Earlier this month, the Finance Ministry said six government agencies had erroneously levied GST on 18 fees for regulatory services, ranging from application fees for professional licences to administrative fees for renting out public flats.
The government said it will refund the erroneously charged GST with interest of 5.5 per cent per annum.
Mr Chee noted that the interest rate is the “average prime lending rate” compiled by the Monetary Authority of Singapore from major banks and licensed finance companies.
