In its efforts to ensure a clean environment in Singapore, NEA works together with the public and businesses to promote environmentally friendly practices and initiatives. The Green Vehicle Rebate (GVR) programme is one of these initiatives. The GVR is an inter-agency effort by various Government agencies (Ministry of Finance, Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, Ministry of Transport, Land Transport Authority and National Environment Agency) and offers incentives to promote green vehicles which are more fuel-efficient and emit less air pollutants than their conventional petrol or diesel equivalents.

The scheme was first introduced in January 2001 for the registration and use of electric and hybrid cars to encourage the use of green vehicles. It was later extended to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) vehicles in October 2001.

The scheme aims to narrow the cost differential between green vehicles and conventional vehicles and it has been extended six times since its introduction, from:

• January 2004 till December 2005;
• January 2006 till December 2007;
• January 2008 till December 2009;
• January 2010 till December 2011;
• January 2012 till December 2012; and
• January 2013 till December 2014*.

In addition to new vehicles, the GVR Scheme has been extended to include imported used electric and petrol-electric hybrid vehicles registered from 1 July 2010.

Quantum of rebates

Under the GVR scheme, owners of green vehicles can enjoy the following rebates:

Electric, Petrol-Electric Hybrid, CNG and Bi-fuel (CNG/Petrol) Vehicles

Rebate equivalent to

• 40% of the vehicle's Open Market Value (OMV) for electric, petrol-electric hybrid, CNG and Bi-fuel (CNG/Petrol) passenger cars,
• 5% of the vehicle’s OMV for electric, petrol-electric hybrid, CNG and Bi-fuel (CNG/Petrol) buses and commercial vehicles, and
• 10% of the vehicle’s OMV for electric motorcycles.

The rebate can be used to offset the Additional Registration Fee (ARF) payable at registration.

Other Tax Incentives for Green Vehicles

Other tax incentives enjoyed by green vehicles are:

• For CNG and Bi-fuel (CNG/Petrol) vehicles: Special tax exemption for CNG and Bi-fuel (CNG/Petrol) cars until 31 Dec 2011. With effect from 1 January 2012, CNG and Bi-fuel (CNG/Petrol) cars will no longer be subjected to special tax and a CNG duty will be phased in at $0.20 per kg.
• For Electric, Petrol-Electric Hybrid, CNG and Bi-fuel (CNG/Petrol) buses and commercial vehicles: Road tax is pegged to that for petrol equivalents, which is 20% lower than their diesel equivalents.

Note: Special tax is not applicable to Buses and Commercial Vehicles.

* GVR for passenger cars will be replaced with a Carbon Emissions-Based Vehicle Scheme (CEVS) from 1 Jan 2013. GVR for motorcycles, commercial vehicles and buses will be extended until 31 Dec 2014.