Foreign Worker Levy Waiver and Rebates Extended for Construction, Marine Shipyard and Process Sectors

1. The government has set aside $320 million to further extend the foreign worker levy (FWL) rebates to support firms in the Construction, Marine Shipyard and Process sectors. The government will also further extend the FWL waiver. This increased support is in addition to the $1.36 billion Construction Support Package earlier announced on 27 June 2020.
2. The government has received feedback from the Singapore Contractors Association Limited (SCAL), Association of Singapore Marine Industries (ASMI), and the Association of Process Industry (ASPRI) that the majority of an estimated 15,000 firms in the Construction, Marine Shipyard and Process sectors continue to face financial difficulties as they are unable to resume work due to COVID-19 measures. This situation is likely to persist until the foreign worker dormitories are fully cleared in August 2020 and their workers are progressively allowed to resume work thereafter.
3. To ensure that these sectors retain enterprise capabilities to emerge stronger from the COVID-19 crisis, the government will increase our support to firms in these sectors by:
   1. Extending FWL waiver till December 2020; and
   2. Extending the existing $375 FWL rebate to September 2020.
   Extending FWL waiver till December 2020
4. Currently, as part of the Fortitude Budget, all firms in the Construction, Marine Shipyard and Process sectors received a 100% FWL waiver for levies due in June and a 50% FWL waiver for levies due in July 2020. MOM will provide a further FWL waiver for levies due in July 2020, to bring it to 100%. Employers who have paid the 50% levies originally due in July will have the amount refunded to them. We will also provide a full FWL waiver for levies due in August and September 2020.
5. As the Construction, Marine Shipyard and Process sectors restart, MOM expects them to take some time raise the tempo of activities and operate at higher efficiency. We will therefore taper down the FWL waiver support from October to December 2020. The FWL waiver will be stepped down to 75% for levies due in October, followed by 50% FWL waiver for levies due in November, and 25% FWL waiver for levies due in December 2020. The gradual reduction of the FWL waiver will give firms more time to adjust.
   
   Extending existing $375 FWL rebate to October 2020
6. In addition to the FWL waiver, firms in the Construction, Marine Shipyard and Process sectors will also receive a $750 FWL rebate per S Pass and Work Permit holder for June, and a $375 FWL rebate per S Pass and Work Permit holder for July as part of the Fortitude Budget. The $375 FWL rebate will be extended for another two months, to August and September 2020.
7. The $375 FWL rebate will replace the existing $90 FWL rebate for each Work Permit holder, announced by the government on 27 June 2020 to help firms adjust to more stringent Safe Management Measures for the months of August and September 2020. Firms in the Construction, Marine Shipyard and Process sectors will continue to receive a $90 FWL rebate monthly for October 2020 until December 2021.¹
   
   Table 1: Summary of FWL waiver and rebate for firms in the Construction, Marine Shipyard and Process sectors

   FWL Waiver		FWL Rebate
   FWL due in	Waiver %	For each S Pass and WPH in	Rebate amount2
   July 2020	100% (up from 50%)	July 2020	$375 (announced earlier)
   August 2020	100% (new)	August 2020	$375 (new)
   September 2020	100% (new)	September 2020	$375 (new)
   October 2020	75% (new)	October 2020	$90 (announced earlier)
   November 2020	50% (new)	November 2020	$90 (announced earlier)
   December 2020	25% (new)	December 2020	$90 (announced earlier)
   January 2021 onwards	0% (i.e. full FWL is payable)	January 2021 – December 2021	$90 (announced earlier)