Singapore Slightly Raises Development Charge Rates For Commercial Use
SINGAPORE – The development charge (DC) rates for commercial use from 1 March 2022 to 31 August 2022 have been slightly increased, according to a press release published by the Ministry of National Development (MND) on Monday afternoon (28 February, SGT).
On average, the DC rates for Use Group A (Commercial) was marginally raised by 0.7 percent. While that for 89 out of 118 geographical sectors were unchanged, the 29 remaining geographical sectors recorded an increase of 3 percent.
The largest increase of 3 percent was imposed in Sectors 1 to 12 and 15 to 21, Sectors 31 to 33 and 38 to 39, Sectors 44 to 47, and lastly Sector 70. These include Singapore’s Central Business District (CBD), Chinatown, Boat Quay, Clarke Quay, Robertson Quay, Farrer Park, Bukit Timah Road, Oxley area, Tanglin Road and River Valley Road. The specific locations covered by each sector is listed below:
• Sectors 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 (Raffles Place/ Clifford Pier/ City Hall/ Bugis/ Promenade Area)
• Sectors 7, 8, 9, 10 (Tanjong Pagar/ Anson/ Cecil/ Maxwell Area)
• Sector 11 (Shenton Way/ Straits Boulevard/ Marina Boulevard/ Raffles Quay)
• Sector 12 (Bayfront Area/ Marina Bay Sands)
• Sectors 15, 16, 17, 18 (Chinatown/ People’s Park/ China Square/ Pearl’s Hill Area)
• Sectors 19, 20, 21 (Robertson Quay/ Clarke Quay/ Boat Quay Area)
• Sectors 31, 32, 33 (Little India/ Farrer Park/ Mackenzie Area)
• Sectors 38, 39 (Bukit Timah Road/ Robin Road/ Balmoral Road/ Goodwood Hill/ Stevens Road/ Anderson Road/ Admore park / Claymore Hill / Claymore Road)
• Sectors 44, 45, 46, 47 (One Tree Hill/ Paterson/ Leonie Hill/ Oxley Area)
• Sector 70 (Tanglin Road/ Grange Road/ Nathan Road/ River Valley Road/ Jervois Road)
The increase in DC rates for commercial use “is reflective of a flight to quality and keen interest for city centre commercial properties,” commented Wong Xian Yang, Research Head for Singapore at Cushman & Wakefield (C&W).
The development charge is a tax that is imposed when planning permission is granted to carry out projects that increase the land’s value. For example, a development is rezoned to a higher value use, or its plot ratio is increased.
The DC rates are reviewed every 6 months on 1 March and 1 September.
