1 The Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) has ceased the charging of Goods and Services Tax (GST) on two applications: (a) to register a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA); and (b) to register as a Professional Deputy (PD) with effect from 14 February 2024. This follows the press release from the Ministry of Finance on the review of the application of GST on Government fees which found that certain fees had been wrongly charged with GST.
2 We are sorry for the error that led to GST being wrongly charged. Approximately 10,000 donors and 50 PDs who paid application fees between 1 January 2019 and 13 February 2024 are affected. The GST charged ranged from $3.27 to $24.77 for LPA applications and was $35.98 for PD registration. Singapore citizens who made an LPA Form 1 application during the fee waiver period since September 2014 are not affected.
3 OPG will refund all affected individuals and companies, including interest. We will progressively reach out to affected individuals and companies via letters from March 2024, starting with those who applied on or after January 2019. The amount to be refunded (including interest) will be stated in the letter.
4 The default refund arrangement for individuals will be made via PayNow to the bank account linked to their NRIC/FIN number. If they do not have a PayNow-NRIC-linked bank account but have previously provided a local bank account number for citizen disbursement schemes (e.g. GST Voucher Scheme), they will receive the refund to this account via bank transfer. Affected donors may contact the OPG if they do not hear from the OPG by 30 June 2024.
5 If the affected individuals have passed on, the executor or administrator of the deceased’s estate or the deceased’s next-of-kin may contact the OPG directly for the refund process.
6 For enquiries, please contact enquiry@publicguardian.gov.sg or 1800-226-6222.
FAQs: go.gov.sg/gst-faqs