Credit Bureau (Appeals) Regulations 2025

No. S 316

Credit Bureau Act 2016

Credit Bureau
(Appeals) Regulations 2025

In exercise of the powers conferred by section 70 of the Credit Bureau Act 2016, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry, Gan Kim Yong, the Minister charged with the responsibility for the Credit Bureau Act 2016, makes the following Regulations:

PART 1

GENERAL

Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations are the Credit Bureau (Appeals) Regulations 2025 and come into operation on 21 May 2025.

Definitions

2.  In these Regulations —

“appeal” means an appeal under section 12, 32(1), (2) or (3) or 47(1), (2) or (3) of the Act;

“Appeal Advisory Committee” means an Appeal Advisory Committee constituted under section 67(2)(a) of the Act;

“Appeal Advisory Panel” means the Appeal Advisory Panel appointed under section 68(1) of the Act;

“appeal proceedings” means proceedings before an Appeal Advisory Committee regarding an appeal contained in a notice of appeal;

“Appeals Secretary” means an Appeals Secretary appointed under regulation 3(1);

“appellant” means any person who wishes to appeal to the Minister under section 12, 32(1), (2) or (3) or 47(1), (2) or (3) of the Act;

“decision of the Authority” means a decision, direction or other act of the Authority mentioned in section 12, 32(1), (2) or (3) or 47(1), (2) or (3) of the Act;

“legal representative”, in relation to a party to any appeal, means any advocate and solicitor named in the register of practitioners and having in force a practising certificate issued under the Legal Profession Act 1966, retained by the party to represent the party in the appeal;

“notice of appeal” means a notice of appeal mentioned in regulation 10;

“party” means the appellant or the Authority;

“virtual meeting technology” means any technology that allows a person to participate in a meeting without being physically present at the place of meeting.

Appeals Secretary

3.—(1)  The Minister may appoint one or more officers or employees of the Authority, either by name or by office, to perform the functions of an Appeals Secretary for the purposes of these Regulations.

(2)  The Appeals Secretary must provide administrative and secretarial support to the Minister, the Appeal Advisory Panel or any Appeal Advisory Committee in the performance of the Minister’s, the Panel’s or the Committee’s functions, as the case may be.

(3)  Without limiting paragraph (2), the Appeals Secretary must —

(a) act as the channel of communication between a party and the Minister, the Appeal Advisory Panel or the Appeal Advisory Committee;

(b) transmit information or documents in accordance with these Regulations;

(c) upon receipt of any information or document sent in accordance with regulation 4(1), transmit the information or document as soon as practicable to the Minister (or the Minister’s legal representative) or the Appeal Advisory Committee, as the case may be; and

(d) assist the Appeal Advisory Committee to fix the date, time and place of any meeting, case management conference or oral hearing of the Committee.

(4)  The Appeals Secretary may attend any meeting, case management conference or oral hearing of any Appeal Advisory Committee.

Submission of information or documents

4.—(1)  Any information or document to be filed with, sent to or served on the Minister, the Appeal Advisory Committee or the Appeals Secretary in connection with an appeal must be addressed to the “Appeals Secretary” and sent to the email address [email protected].

(2)  Subject to paragraph (3), a party must forward a copy of any information or document filed with, sent to or served on the Minister, the Appeal Advisory Committee or the Appeals Secretary, to the other party as soon as practicable.

(3)  Paragraph (2) does not apply to a notice of appeal and any information, document or part of a document, in respect of which the Authority has requested confidential treatment under regulation 22.

Representation

5.  In any appeal proceedings —

(a) an appellant may be represented by —

(i) one or more persons authorised by the appellant to represent the appellant in the appeal (each called in these Regulations an authorised representative); or

(ii) one or more legal representatives; and

(b) the Authority may be represented by —

(i) one or more officers authorised by the Authority to represent the Authority in the appeal (each called in these Regulations an authorised officer); or

(ii) one or more legal representatives.

PART 2

APPEAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Members of Appeal Advisory Committee

6.—(1)  Every Appeal Advisory Committee must consist of —

(a) a chairperson; and

(b) 2 or more other members,

as the Minister may appoint from the members of the Appeal Advisory Panel.

(2)  The Minister may appoint an alternate chairperson from among the appointed members and, in the absence of the chairperson, the alternate chairperson has all the powers conferred on the chairperson by these Regulations.

(3)  A member of an Appeal Advisory Committee must declare to the Minister the nature and extent of all conflicts of interest or potential conflicts of interest (if any) with the member’s duties or interests as a member of that Committee, including those arising from —

(a) the member’s holding of any office;

(b) the member’s interest in any contract;

(c) the member’s possession or ownership of any property; or

(d) any direct or indirect relationship to the appellant.

(4)  Where the Minister is satisfied that the chairperson, the alternate chairperson or any other member of an Appeal Advisory Committee is unable to carry out that person’s duties properly and effectively because of any conflict of interest or potential conflict of interest mentioned in paragraph (3), the Minister may appoint another chairperson or alternate chairperson or replace that other member, as the case may be.

Quorum

7.  The quorum of any meeting, case management conference (other than a case management conference held in an asynchronous manner by exchange of written correspondence with the parties) or oral hearing of an Appeal Advisory Committee is 2 persons, of whom one must be the chairperson or alternate chairperson, and no business is to be transacted unless such a quorum is present.

Determination of Appeal Advisory Committee

8.  Every decision of an Appeal Advisory Committee (whether made at a meeting of the Committee, by a circulation of papers among the members of the Committee, or by any other means) must be decided by a majority of votes and, in the case of an equality of votes, the chairperson is entitled to a casting vote.

Meetings and hearings, etc., not open to public

9.  Every meeting, case management conference and oral hearing of an Appeal Advisory Committee must be held in private.

 

Made on 13 May 2025.

LEO YIP

Permanent Secretary,
Prime Minister’s Office,
Singapore.

[AG/LEGIS/SL/66A/2020/2]