Budget 2021: Petrol duties up 10-15 cents per litre with immediate effect

PETROL duty rates are going up with immediate effect, by 15 Singapore cents per litre for premium petrol and 10 Singapore cents per litre for intermediate petrol, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat announced in his Budget speech on Tuesday.

As part of continuing efforts to make Singapore a "car-lite society", the move aims to reduce the use of internal combustion engine cars and hence lower emissions.

To ease the transition, however, rebates will be given. The expected revenue increase in the coming year will be paid out through offsets of some S$113 million. (see Amendment note)

Motorcycles will receive a one-year road tax rebate of 60 per cent. Individual owners of smaller motorcycles, up to 400cc, will also receive S$50 or S$80 in cash, depending on the engine capacities of their vehicles.

Petrol or petrol-hybrid taxi and private-hire cars will get a S$360 petrol duty rebate, paid out over four months.

This is in addition to a one-year road tax rebate of 15 per cent for all taxis and passenger cars.

Petrol or petrol-hybrid goods vehicles and buses will receive a one-year road tax rebate of 100 per cent.

All road tax rebates take effect from Aug 1, 2021.

The offsets will cover about one year of the petrol duty increase for taxis and motorcycles.

Amendment note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that the offsets would total about S$130 million. The correct value is S$113 million.