Choose one of the following

I am / my business is seeking temporary relief under the Act.

A party with whom I / my business has an existing contract is seeking temporary relief under the Act against me / my business.

Is the contract a Scheduled Contract?

Yes

No

Was the contract entered into before 25 March 2020?

Yes

No

Are the obligations under the contract, which the party seeking temporary relief against you / your business cannot perform, to be performed on or after 1 February 2020?

Yes

No

Is the inability to perform obligation(s) under the contract caused materially by COVID-19?

Yes

No

Have you / your business been served with a Notification for Relief?

Yes

No

Do you agree that the inability, of the person / business who has served the Notification for Relief on you, to perform the obligation(s) under the contract was materially caused by COVID-19?

Yes

No

Have you / your business served a Notification for Relief on the other party or parties to the contract?

Yes

No

CONCLUSION: The Act only applies to Scheduled Contracts. Since your contract is not a Scheduled contract, you / your business do / does not qualify for temporary relief under the Act.

CONCLUSION: The Act only applies to Scheduled contracts. Since the contract is not a Scheduled contract, the other party to the contract does not qualify for temporary relief under the Act.

CONCLUSION: The Act only applies to contracts entered into before 25 March 2020. If your contract is entered into on or after 25 March 2020, the party who is seeking temporary relief against you / your business does not qualify for temporary relief under the Act.

CONCLUSION: The Act only applies where the obligation under the contract is / was to be performed on or after 1 February 2020. If the obligation under the contract was to be performed before 1 February 2020, the party who is seeking temporary relief against you / your business, does not qualify for temporary relief under the Act

CONCLUSION: The Act only applies where the other party has served a Notification for Relief on you / your business. Since a Notification for Relief has not been served on you / your business, the other party to the contract does not qualify for temporary relief under the Act.

1. The Act applies where the inability to perform the obligation(s) under a scheduled contract is to a material extent caused by COVID-19.

2. Based on your inputs, it appears that the other party to the contract who is seeking temporary relief under the Act against you / your business, would qualify for temporary relief under the Act.

3. We recommend that you / your business first discuss with the other party or parties to the contract, understand each other’s position and try to reach a compromise.

4. Upon receiving the Notification for Relief, you / your business are / is prohibited from taking certain types of legal actions (as described below) to enforce the other party’s contractual obligation for the prescribed period (which is currently 20 April 2020 to 19 October 2020) until after the earliest of the following:

1. the expiry of the prescribed period;
2. the withdrawal of the Notification for Relief;
3. on an application for a determination, the assessor makes a determination that the case is not one to which this Act applies.

5. The actions that the you / your business would be prohibited from taking include:

1. Commencing or continuing court and insolvency proceedings;
2. Enforcement of security over immovable property as well as movable property that is used for the purposes of business or trade;
3. Call on a performance bond given pursuant to a construction contract or supply contract; and
4. Repossession of any goods under a hire-purchase agreement, being goods used for the purpose of a trade, business or profession;
5. Termination of leases of non-residential properties for non-payment of rent;
6. The withholding or forfeiture of any part of the booking fee or other consideration paid for an option given by a housing developer to purchase a unit of housing accommodation;
7. The termination by a housing developer of an agreement for the sale and purchase of a unit of housing accommodation.

6. In addition, there will be additional relief in respect of forfeiture of deposits for events and tourism-related contracts. For example, if an event is unable to proceed because of COVID-19, the vendor cannot forfeit the customer’s deposit unless there is a determination from an Assessor that it would be just and equitable to forfeit either the whole deposit of a part of it (e.g. if the booking is cancelled entirely).

7. In the case of construction and supply contracts, the fact that a contractor is unable to supply goods or services due materially to COVID-19 is a defence to a claim for breach of contract.

8. For more information, please refer to:

https://www.mlaw.gov.sg/covid19-relief

CONCLUSION: The Act only applies to contracts entered into before 25 March 2020. If your contract is entered into on or after 25 March 2020, you / your business do / does not qualify for temporary relief under the Act.

CONCLUSION: The Act only applies where the obligation under the contract is / was to be performed on or after 1 February 2020. If the obligation under the contract was to be performed before 1 February 2020, you / your business do / does not qualify for temporary relief under the Act.

CONCLUSION: The Act only applies where the inability to perform the obligations under the contract is to a material extent caused by COVID-19.

If you / your business are / is unable to perform the obligations but it is not caused materially by COVID-19, you / your business do / does not qualify for temporary relief under the Act.

CONCLUSION: The Act only applies where you / your business has served a Notification for Relief on the following Receipients, where applicable:

1. The other party or parties to the contract;
2. Any guarantor or surety for the obligation in the contract; and
3. The issuer of a performance bond or equivalent for the performance of the obligation (if any), where the contract is a construction contract or supply contract.

Steps moving forward: If you wish to seek temporary relief under the Act and you have not served the Notification for Relief, please serve the Notification for Relief on the Recipients (where applicable). For more information on how to serve the Notification for Relief, please refer to this link:

https://www.mlaw.gov.sg/covid19-relief/notification-for-relief

1. The Act applies where the inability to perform the obligation(s) under a scheduled contract is to a material extent caused by COVID-19.

2. Based on your inputs, it appears that you / your business may disagree with the party that has served on you / your business the Notification for Relief, that their inability to perform the obligation(s) under the contract was materially caused by COVID-19.

3. We recommend that you / your business first discuss with the other party or parties to the contract, understand each other’s position and try to reach a compromise.

4. Upon receiving the Notification for Relief, you / your business are / is prohibited from taking certain types of legal actions (as described below) to enforce the other party’s contractual obligation for the prescribed period (which is currently 20 April 2020 to 19 October 2020) until after the earliest of the following:

1. the expiry of the prescribed period;
2. the withdrawal of the Notification for Relief;
3. on an application for a determination, the assessor makes a determination that the case is not one to which this Act applies.

5. The actions that you / your business would be prohibited from taking include:

1. Commencing or continuing court and insolvency proceedings;
2. Enforcement of security over immovable property as well as movable property that is used for the purposes of business or trade;
3. Call on a performance bond given pursuant to a construction contract or supply contract; and
4. Repossession of any goods under a hire-purchase agreement, being goods used for the purpose of a trade, business or profession;
5. Termination of leases of non-residential properties for non-payment of rent;
6. The withholding or forfeiture of any part of the booking fee or other consideration paid for an option given by a housing developer to purchase a unit of housing accommodation;
7. The termination by a housing developer of an agreement for the sale and purchase of a unit of housing accommodation.

6. In addition, there will be additional relief in respect of forfeiture of deposits for events and tourism-related contracts. For example, if an event is unable to proceed because of COVID-19, the vendor cannot forfeit the customer’s deposit unless there is a determination from an Assessor that it would be just and equitable to forfeit either the whole deposit of a part of it (e.g. if the booking is cancelled entirely).

7. In the case of construction and supply contracts, the fact that a contractor is unable to supply goods or services due materially to COVID-19 is a defence to a claim for breach of contract.

8. If you are still unable to resolve the matter with the other party to the contract who is seeking temporary relief under the Act against you / your business, either party may make an Application to the Panel of Assessors for COVID-19 Temporary Relief (PACT) for an assessor’s determination.

9. For more information on how to make an Application, you may wish to refer to this link:

https://www.mlaw.gov.sg/covid19-relief/application-for-assessor

1. The Act applies where you / your business are / is unable to perform your obligation(s) under a scheduled contract and the inability is caused to a material extent by COVID-19.

2. Based on your inputs, it appears that you / your business would qualify for temporary relief under the Act.

3. We recommend that you / your business first discuss with the other party or parties to the contract, understand each other’s position and try to reach a compromise.

4. By serving the Notification for Relief, the other party to the contract is prohibited from taking certain types of legal actions (as described below) to enforce your contractual obligation for the prescribed period (which is currently 20 April 2020 to 19 October 2020) until after the earliest of the following:

1. the expiry of the prescribed period;
2. the withdrawal of the Notification for Relief;
3. on an application for a determination, the assessor makes a determination that the case is not one to which this Act applies.

5. The actions that the other party would be prohibited from taking include:

1. Commencing or continuing court and insolvency proceedings;
2. Enforcement of security over immovable property as well as movable property that is used for the purposes of business or trade;
3. Call on a performance bond given pursuant to a construction contract or supply contract; and
4. Repossession of any goods under a hire-purchase agreement, being goods used for the purpose of a trade, business or profession;
5. Termination of leases of non-residential properties for non-payment of rent;
6. The withholding or forfeiture of any part of the booking fee or other consideration paid for an option given by a housing developer to purchase a unit of housing accommodation;
7. The termination by a housing developer of an agreement for the sale and purchase of a unit of housing accommodation.

6. In addition, there will be additional relief in respect of forfeiture of deposits for events and tourism-related contracts. For example, if an event is unable to proceed because of COVID-19, the vendor cannot forfeit the customer’s deposit unless there is a determination from an Assessor that it would be just and equitable to forfeit either the whole deposit of a part of it (e.g. if the booking is cancelled entirely).

7. In the case of construction and supply contracts, the fact that a contractor is unable to supply goods or services due materially to COVID-19 is a defence to a claim for breach of contract.

8. The party whom you have served a Notification for Relief, may disagree that the reliefs in the Act apply to you (e.g. the other party may disagree that you are unable to perform your contractual obligations or that your inability to perform is to a material extent caused by COVID-19).

9. If that happens, we encourage that you try to negotiate with the other party to try to resolve the matter.

10. However, if you are still unable to resolve the matter with the other party, after a Notification for Relief has been served, either party may make an Application to the Panel of Assessors for COVID-19 Temporary Relief (PACT) for an Assessor’s determination.

11. For more information on how to make an Application, you may wish to refer to this link:

https://www.mlaw.gov.sg/covid19-relief/application-for-assessor