FAQs for Notification for Relief

Notification for Relief

I am the party seeking relief and sender of the Notification for Relief…

1. Is there a deadline to serve a Notification for Relief on the other party to the contract?

Yes. A Notification for Relief must be served on the other party to the contract within the prescribed period (which has now passed - see below).

Deadline to serve Notification for Relief	Categories of Contracts
19 November 2020	– Leases and licences of non-residential property – Hire-purchase and conditional sales agreements with banks or MAS-regulated finance companies for commercial vehicles, or plant/machinery used for commercial purposes – Loans to SMEs secured by certain collateral in Singapore
31 January 2021	– Hire-purchase and conditional sales agreements with financing companies (other than banks or MAS-regulated finance companies) for commercial vehicles, or plant/machinery used for commercial purposes – Rental agreements for commercial equipment or commercial vehicles – Event and tourism-related contracts
30 June 2021	– Options to purchase and sale and purchase agreements with developers
28 February 2022	– Construction contracts or supply contracts, or any performance bond granted thereto

2. I served a Notification for Relief (either using the online system, or by downloading and sending the hard-copy form to the other party to the contract). Do I need to file the Notification for Relief with the Ministry of Law? Does the Ministry of Law need to “approve” my Notification for Relief before it is valid?

The Ministry of Law does not need to further “approve” a Notification for Relief that was served. There is no need to file a copy of the Notification for Relief with the Ministry of Law.

3. I served a Notification for Relief using the online system on the Ministry of Law’s website. I did not hear from the other party to the contract. How do I know if the other party received the Notification for Relief? What do I do next?

You may wish to reach out to the other party to ensure that he received the Notification for Relief.
Thereafter, we encourage you to engage the other party to reach a mutually acceptable solution. Both sides must be fair and reasonable.
If parties cannot agree, the Act provides for either party to make an application for an Assessor’s determination and for the Assessor to achieve an outcome that is just and equitable in the circumstances. Please refer to this link for more information on the application process.

4. I served the Notification for Relief, and I filed the Application for an Assessor’s Determination. Since then, the other party and I have reached a mutually acceptable solution without having to go through the proceedings before the Assessor. What do I do now?

If the agreement you have reached with the other party involves you withdrawing the Notification for Relief, you should serve a Notice of Withdrawal in respect of the previous Notification for Relief.
For the pending Application, you should inform the Registrar of the settlement and that you wish to withdraw the Application. You may do so by writing to the Registry’s email address from which the acknowledgment of receipt of the Application was sent.

I am the receiver of a Notification for Relief…

5. The party seeking relief indicated a “proposal” in Part D of the Notification for Relief. Is that proposal binding?

No. It is merely a proposal from the party seeking relief for the other party’s consideration. We encourage you to use the proposal as a basis to start negotiations.

6. I was served a Notification for Relief. I disagree with my counterparty’s proposal in Part D of the Notification for Relief. What do I do next? Must I serve a Notification for Relief as well?

We encourage you to reach out to your counterparty, negotiate and come to a mutually agreeable solution.
There is no need for you to serve a Notification for Relief on your counterparty as well.

7. I am not a party to the contract, but was erroneously served a Notification for Relief. What do I do next?

If it is a mistake, you may contact the sender of the Notification for Relief to inform him about the error, or ignore the erroneous Notification for Relief.
If it appears that the sender had sent you the Notification for Relief because he believes you are a party to the contract (when you are not a party to the contract), you may dispute the Notification for Relief by making an application to the Assessor using this link.

8. I was served a Notification for Relief even though my contract with the party seeking relief does not fall within the Act. What do I do next?

Even though the Notification for Relief was served in error, this indicates that your counterparty has difficulties meeting his contractual obligations to you under your contract. We encourage you to reach out to your counterparty to inform him that the contract does not fall within the Act and to reach a mutually acceptable solution to deal with any contractual issues that have been caused by COVID-19.
If you are unable to reach an agreement with the counterparty and you wish to dispute the Notification for Relief, you may make an application to the Assessor by following the steps in this link. The Assessor will determine whether relief under the Act applies.

9. I was served multiple Notification for Reliefs by the same party, all with slightly different details. What do I do next?

You may wish to reach out to the sender of the Notification for Relief to clarify which document he wishes to rely on.

10. I was served the Notification for Relief and I filed an Application for an Assessor’s Determination. Since then, the other party and I have reached a mutually acceptable solution without having to go through the proceedings before the Assessor. What should I do now?

For the pending Application, you should inform the Registrar of the settlement and that you wish to withdraw the Application. You may do so by writing to the Registry’s email address from which the acknowledgment of receipt of the Application was sent to you.