TRANSHIPMENT procedures at land checkpoints and requirements for exports at air checkpoints will be reviewed to help businesses save time and money, Senior Minister of State for Finance Chee Hong Tat said on Friday (Mar 3).

The government is exploring ways to help move goods more efficiently between land checkpoints and seaports, to boost multi-modal connectivity, he said in his speech at the Ministry of Transport’s committee of supply debate.

For the transhipment of goods through the Woodlands and Tuas checkpoints, he said that the government is looking at adopting the use of transhipment permits, similar to existing practices for air and sea transhipment.

Currently, such goods are considered as imports to be re-exported, so companies must apply for two permits from the Singapore Customs – one for importing the goods, and another for exporting them. This adds up to higher administrative and compliance costs.

With transhipment permits, Chee said businesses can potentially save up to S$40 for each transhipment. Total savings for the industry could amount to S$2 million annually, he noted.

Changes for air checkpoints could entail a further calibration of requirements for exports based on risk management, he said. For example, the level of screening for goods exported through Singapore could be reduced, if they come from overseas companies with strict safety and security processes in place, he added.

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‘Short of local drivers’

The third measure will allow non-Singapore registered trucks and non-Singaporean drivers under local logistics and haulier companies to access container terminals and handle containers.

Currently, only Singapore-registered container trucks and Singaporean or work-permit drivers are allowed to enter container terminals. 

This means that trucks from Malaysia with foreign drivers will have to offload their containers outside the port after entering Singapore and load them onto Singapore registered trucks with Singaporean or work-permit drivers, before the containers can enter the terminals. 

Chee said that the double handling has led to increased manpower requirements and business costs. “We are also short of local drivers,” he added.

Any changes will be made in a phased approach to ensure safety and security. The companies and drivers will be subject to PSA’s approval, after attending workplace safety training and assessments, he said.

He divulged that Allied Container Services is the first company that PSA has approved under this new arrangement. It is now able to directly transport the goods of its customers from Malaysia to the container terminals in Singapore, without double-handling.