The forthcoming disbursements are part of the enhanced, ongoing GST Voucher scheme and the Household Support Package, as announced in the 2023 Budget.
SINGAPORE – The Ministry of Finance (MOF) announced on Friday that approximately 950,000 Singaporean households residing in Housing Board flats will be granted their quarterly U-Save Goods and Services Tax (GST) Voucher along with service and conservancy charges (S&CC) rebates in April.
In the 2023 financial year beginning in April, each qualifying household will be allocated U-Save vouchers ranging from $440 to $760, based on their flat type. This is the same amount as in FY2022, which doubled the regular U-Save vouchers for households.
The S&CC rebate, aimed at covering estate maintenance fees, varies from 1.5 months to 3.5 months.
These disbursements represent a component of the enhanced permanent GST Voucher scheme and the Household Support Package, which was unveiled in Budget 2023. The goal is to alleviate financial pressure on Singaporeans facing increased inflation and to soften the blow of the GST rate hike.
The GST Voucher payments include cash, MediSave, U-Save for utilities, and S&CC rebates.
These payments are designed to support lower- and middle-income Singaporeans.
For the average household living in a one- or two-room HDB flat, the S&CC and U-Save payouts in this financial year will amount to eight to 10 months’ worth of utility bills. Additionally, for the average household residing in a three- or four-room flat, the payouts will cover approximately four to six months’ worth of utility bills, according to MOF.
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Households’ S&CC accounts, managed by their respective town councils, will be directly credited with these payments.
MOF stated that these disbursements will be made in four separate installments – April, July, and October of this year, and January 2024.
In the first tranche of payments in April, households will receive $55 to $95 in U-Save vouchers, in addition to 0.5 or one month in S&CC rebates.
On Friday, national grid operator SP Group revealed that the electricity tariff for the April-June period would drop by an average of 5.4% compared to the first three months of the year. City Energy, a piped gas producer and retailer, also announced that the gas tariff would decrease by 0.16% from the previous quarter.
The Government has been providing GST vouchers since 2012, with the S&CC rebate becoming part of the scheme since the 2022 financial year.