Second Reading Speech By Mr Lim Hng Kiang, Minister for Trade and Industry, on the Regulation of Imports and Exports (Amendment) Bill

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Second Reading Speech by Mr Lim Hng Kiang, Minister for Trade and Industry, On The Regulation of Imports and Exports (Amendment) Bill

1.               Madam Speaker, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a second time."

Background

2.               The Regulation of Imports and Exports Act (RIEA) requires all traders to apply for a permit to bring goods in and out of Singapore. Apart from ensuring that only legitimate trade passes Singapore, the RIEA provides Singapore Customs with the authority to collect import and export information through the traders’ declarations.

3.               This Bill proposes amendments to the RIEA to allow Singapore Customs to share traders’ declared information with other domestic public agencies to enable them to fulfil public duties and safeguard public interests. The Bill also contains technical amendments to the RIEA and the Customs Act to ensure effective administration of the legislations.

Facilitating the Disclosure of Information to Domestic Public Agencies

4.               Currently, information declared by traders is strictly confidential and can only be disclosed with the traders’ consent, or if the information is needed for investigation, enforcement or prosecution purposes under the RIEA, or if it is intended to comply with a prescribed trade agreement.

5.               The proposed amendments will allow Singapore Customs to disclose information declared by traders to other domestic public agencies under specific circumstances. With the amendments, Singapore Customs will be allowed to disclose such information to safeguard national security, public health and safety, for investigation and prosecution of offences under domestic laws other than the RIEA, or for the analysis of trade trends and formulation of trade policies that will help safeguard or advance Singapore’s economic interests.

6.               Safeguards will be put in place to protect the confidentiality of trader-specific trade data.  The Minister for Trade and Industry’s approval will have to be sought for each request for trader-specific information by government agencies. Every request for such information will be considered carefully, and will be granted only when there is a strong justification to do so. Any information disclosed to the domestic public agencies will also be governed by the Official Secrets Act. Clause 3 of the Bill provides for this change.

7.               Madam Speaker, the remaining legislative changes in the Bill are technical in nature. They either provide greater legal clarity on the application of specific provisions under the RIEA, or allow for closer alignment in the legal texts in the RIEA and the Customs Act.

8.               Overall, the amendments in this Bill preserve the fundamental principles of the RIEA, which is to regulate imports and exports for the purpose of upholding our national security and economic well-being. In our public consultations, we have not received any objections to the proposed amendments from business communities or for the general public.

Conclusion

9.               To conclude, the RIEA will be amended primarily to facilitate the disclosure of traders’ declared information with domestic public agencies for the fulfilment of public duties and the safeguarding of public interests. Such data sharing will be subject to safeguards, to protect sensitive commercial data and to uphold our integrity as a trading hub.

10.           Madam Speaker, I beg to move.