Certificate of Entitlement

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The Certificate of Entitlement (COE), instituted by the government of Singapore, is a program designed to limit car ownership, and hence, the number of vehicles on the country's roads. This system, in effect, requires residents of Singapore to bid for the right to buy a motor vehicle, with the number of certificates deliberately restricted.

There are five categories of COE:

  • Non-transferable categories:
  • Category A : Cars (1,600cc and below) & taxis
  • Category B : Cars (1,601cc and above)
  • Category D : Motorcycles
  • Transferable categories:
  • Category C : Goods Vehicles and Buses
  • Category E : Open Category

COE biddings starts on the first and third Monday of the month and typically lasts for 3 days to the following Wednesday. Bidding duration will be pushed further in some circumstances, including Public Holidays. Bidding results can be obtained here or through the local media on the same day.

Non-transferable COEs are tied to the vehicle, but the vehicle and its COE can be sold to a new owner. Transferable COEs can be changed from a vehicle to another.

An additional restriction on car ownership is the requirement that motor vehicles more than ten years old, known as 'time expired' vehicles, must either be scrapped, or exported from Singapore, usually to neighbouring countries. Some of these vehicles have been exported further afield to other right hand drive countries like New Zealand, which has traditionally imported such vehicles from Japan. The result of the peculiarities of the Singapore car market has resulted in Singapore being the second largest exporter of used cars in the world after Japan. Cars are exported to many countries, including Libya and Trinidad. [1]

Owners of such vehicles are given financial incentives to do this, which include a Preferential Additional Registration Fee (PARF).

According to the Land Transport Authority, the number of COEs planned for the year 2006 is 131,127. From 2006 to 2008, the vehicle growth rate will be kept at 1.5% percent per annum.

This program was implemented to reduce traffic congestion and it complements other measures to curb road usage such as the Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) program. However, the Quota Premium (QP) dropped steeply in recent years following announcements of importation tax reduction agreement between ASEAN nations.

Detailed cost structures when buying a car can be found here.

Contents

[edit] Latest Premium Quota (May 2008 2nd Open Bidding)

Catergory Current Premium Quota Previous Premium Quota ▲/▼ Difference
A (1600cc and below, taxi) S$11,009 S$15,701 ▲ S$4,692
B (1601cc and above) S$15,889 S$17,113 ▲ S$1,224
C (Goods Vehicle and Bus) S$15,889 S$14,756 ▼ S$1,133
D (Motorcycles) S$1,289 S$1,109 ▼ S$180
E (Open) S$16,500 S$16,700 ▲ S$200

Price is in Singapore Dollar (SGD)

[edit] Average vehicle pricing (March 2008):

All prices are in Singapore dollars.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Farah Abdul Rahim. "100,000 used Singapore cars expected to be exported this year", Channel NewsAsia, 2005-10-23. 

[edit] External links