# Further Extension of Relief Periods under the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Act for Relevant Contracts in the Built Environment Sector

- **Source:** Ministry of National Development
- **Published:** 2021-12-27T09:15:00.000Z
- **Author:** Ministry of National Development
- **Original:** https://www.mnd.gov.sg/newsroom/press-releases/view/further-extension-of-relief-periods-under-the-covid-19-(temporary-measures)-act-for-relevant-contracts-in-the-built-environment-sector_
- **Topics:** Government & Policy

## Featured rationale

The final extensions could help contractors manage persistent manpower shortages and elevated costs, reducing near-term contractual pressure and potential disruption to construction progress.

## AI summary

Built-environment relief under Parts 2 and 8B was extended to 28 February 2022, while Part 10A relief continued until 31 March 2022.

## Original article

The Built Environment (“BE”) sector has been adversely impacted by COVID-19. In response, the Government has intervened in an unprecedented way, including providing significant financial assistance through a $1.36 billion construction support package, manpower support, and legislative relief through the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Act (the “Act”). Our objective is to ensure that no single segment of the BE value chain bears a disproportionate share of the burden due to COVID-19. 

The Government had previously announced that the prescribed periods for legislative relief (“relief periods”) related to the BE sector under Part 2, Part 8B and Part 10A of the Act would be extended up to 31 December 2021. 

Part 2 of the Act provides temporary relief for a prescribed period, upon service of a Notification for Relief, from stipulated types of legal and enforcement actions in relation to the inability to perform contractual obligations due to COVID-19. Part 8B of the Act requires the co-sharing of additional non-manpower qualifying costs between contracting parties due to delays caused by COVID-19. Part 10A of the Act provides a relief framework to allow contractors to seek a determination from an Assessor to adjust the contract sum to address the increase in foreign manpower salary costs, i.e. salary costs of construction Work Permit Holders (WPHs), due to COVID-19. 

We have seen recovery in the BE sector. For instance, BCA has observed that industry-level certified progress payments have almost reached pre-COVID-19 levels. These indicate that construction works are progressing at a steady pace. However, firms in the BE sector are still facing some challenges including manpower shortage and elevated costs. In this regard, we will extend the temporary legislative relief related to the BE sector in the following manner.

The Government will extend the relief periods under Part 2 of the Act for construction contracts and supply contracts, or any performance bond granted thereto, and Part 8B of the Act for an additional two months, up to 28 February 2022.1 Barring any unforeseen circumstances, this will be the final extension of these two Parts. We strongly encourage all contracting parties to use this final extension to agree on a sustainable course of action moving forward.

The Government will also extend the relief periods under Part 10A of the Act for an additional three months, up to 31 March 2022. This is in view of the continued increase in foreign manpower salary costs experienced by contractors. It will also complement the extension of Foreign Worker Levy rebates (earlier announced by MOM) for the same duration. 

To ensure the safe inflow of workers while minimising importation risk, we encourage firms to continue to tap on the two viable and safe entry lanes for construction WPHs to bring in workers to meet their immediate needs -- the tightened end-to-end process led by the industry, and the Work Pass Holder General lane. 

Further details on the processes under Part 2, Part 8B and Part 10A of the Act can be found at http://www.mlaw.gov.sg/covid19-relief, https://go.gov.sg/bca-guide-cotma-8a-8b and http://go.gov.sg/cotma10a respectively.

We would like to emphasise that the reliefs related to the BE sector under the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Act are meant to be time-limited. As the sector continues to recover and as we shift towards living with COVID-19, firms will need to partner each other even more closely for long-term sustainability and resilience. 

1 If there is a dispute as to whether the relief under Part 2 of the Act applies, parties may submit an Application for an Assessor’s Determination up to two months after the end of the relief period, i.e. latest by 30 April 2022.

## Chinese translation

> Translation model: grok_cli

### 进一步延长《2019冠状病毒病（临时措施）法令》下建筑环境行业相关合约的救济期限

建筑环境（“BE”）行业受到2019冠状病毒病的严重冲击。对此，政府采取了前所未有的干预措施，包括通过13.6亿新元的建筑业支持配套提供可观的财政援助、人力支持，以及通过《2019冠状病毒病（临时措施）法令》（“该法令”）提供立法救济。我们的目标是确保建筑环境价值链中的任何单一环节都不会因2019冠状病毒病而承担不成比例的负担。

政府此前已宣布，该法令第2部、第8B部及第10A部下与建筑环境行业相关的法定救济规定期限（“救济期限”）将延长至2021年12月31日。

该法令第2部规定，在送达救济通知后，可在规定期限内获得临时救济，以免因2019冠状病毒病导致无法履行合约义务而遭受特定类型的法律及执行行动。该法令第8B部要求合约各方共同分担因2019冠状病毒病导致延误而产生的额外非人力合资格费用。该法令第10A部提供救济框架，允许承包商向评估员申请裁定，以调整合约金额，应对因2019冠状病毒病导致的外籍人力薪金成本上升，即建筑业工作准证持有人（WPHs）的薪金成本。

我们已看到建筑环境行业的复苏。例如，建设局（BCA）观察到，行业层面的经核证进度付款已几乎恢复至2019冠状病毒病疫情前水平。这表明建筑工程正以稳定的步伐推进。然而，建筑环境行业的企业仍面临一些挑战，包括人力短缺和成本上升。有鉴于此，我们将按以下方式延长与建筑环境行业相关的临时立法救济。

政府将把该法令第2部下适用于建筑合约及供应合约，或为该等合约提供的任何履约保证，以及第8B部的救济期限再延长两个月，至2022年2月28日。¹ 除非出现不可预见的情况，这将是上述两部分的最后一次延期。我们强烈鼓励所有合约各方利用这次最后延期，就可持续的后续行动方案达成协议。

政府亦将把该法令第10A部的救济期限再延长三个月，至2022年3月31日。这是考虑到承包商持续面临外籍人力薪金成本上升。此举亦将配合人力部（MOM）早前宣布的外籍劳工税回扣同期延长措施。

为确保工人安全入境，同时尽量降低输入风险，我们鼓励企业继续利用两条可行且安全的建筑业工作准证持有人入境通道，以满足即时人力需求——由行业主导的收紧端到端流程，以及工作准证持有人一般通道。

有关该法令第2部、第8B部及第10A部程序的进一步详情，可分别参阅 http://www.mlaw.gov.sg/covid19-relief、https://go.gov.sg/bca-guide-cotma-8a-8b 及 http://go.gov.sg/cotma10a。

我们想强调，该法令下与建筑环境行业相关的救济措施旨在具有时限性。随着行业持续复苏，以及我们转向与2019冠状病毒病共存，企业之间需要更紧密地相互合作，以实现长期的可持续性与韧性。

¹ 若就该法令第2部的救济是否适用存在争议，各方可在救济期限结束后两个月内提交评估员裁定申请，即最迟至2022年4月30日。