Ministry of Law calls for feedback on proposed changes to Trustees Act

THE Ministry of Law on Thursday launched a public consultation to gather public feedback on the proposed amendments to the Trustees Act.

The proposed amendments seek to give effect to the recommendations by the Financial Action Task Force and requirements of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes - by enhancing the transparency of the ownership and control structures of trusts, and prescribing minimum standards for financial record keeping by trustees.

The proposed amendments include provisions to empower the Minister of Law to make rules to:

(i) Prescribe duties on trustees to obtain and maintain financial records, as well as information on the parties relevant to and dealing with the trust;

(ii) Prescribe the specific groups of trusts which are exempted from the proposed amendments;

(iii) Designate any breach of such rules as an offence; and

(iv) Impose a penalty of a fine not exceeding S$1,000 for any breaches of the obligations.

The public consultation will run until Jan 31.