Central Provident Fund (Service of Documents) Regulations 2024

No. S 712

Central Provident Fund Act 1953

Central Provident Fund
(Service of Documents)
Regulations 2024

In exercise of the powers conferred by section 77(1) of the Central Provident Fund Act 1953, the Minister for Manpower, after consulting with the Central Provident Fund Board, makes the following Regulations:

PART 1

PRELIMINARY

Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations are the Central Provident Fund (Service of Documents) Regulations 2024 and come into operation on 15 September 2024.

PART 2

GENERAL PROVISIONS ON SERVICE

Definitions

2.  In these Regulations —

“document” means a notice, direction or other document, other than a notice to attend court or a summons mentioned in section 62A of the Act and any document to be served in proceedings in court;

“residential address” means the place of residence of a person as registered under the National Registration Act 1965;

“serve”, in relation to a document, includes to give or send the document to a person.

General provisions on service of documents on members

3.—(1)  Unless otherwise required by or under the Act and without limiting section 48A(1)(a) of the Interpretation Act 1965, where the Board is required to serve a document on a member of the Fund under the Act, the Board may —

(a) send the document by ordinary post or prepaid registered post to the member’s residential address;

(b) send the document by ordinary post or prepaid registered post to any other address provided to the Board by the member and approved by the Board; or

(c) serve the document by any other means, including electronic means, agreed between the member and the Board.

(2)  If the document does not affect the member’s rights or obligations, the Board may serve the document in a manner that the Board reasonably believes will bring the document to the member’s attention.

Change of residential address

4.—(1)  Subject to paragraph (3), every member must notify the Board in writing of any change in the member’s residential address at which the Board may serve a document on the member.

(2)  The Board may, after it has been notified of the change of a member’s residential address under paragraph (1), serve a document on the member using the member’s new residential address.

(3)  Where a member has made a report of a change of the member’s residential address under section 10 of the National Registration Act 1965, the member is deemed to have notified the Board of the change in compliance with paragraph (1).

PART 3

SERVICE THROUGH ELECTRONIC SERVICE PLATFORM

Definitions of this Part

5.  In this Part —

“general notice” means a notice, for the general information of the public, of the Board’s intention to serve one or more documents specified in the notice on specified persons through the electronic service platform starting on or after the date specified in the notice;

“notice of consent”, in relation to a specified person, means a notice given by the specified person to the Board consenting to the service of any relevant document on the specified person through the electronic service platform;

“notice of intention” means a notice of the Board’s intention to serve one or more documents specified in the notice on a specified person through the electronic service platform on or after the date specified in the notice;

“notice of refusal”, in relation to a specified person, means a notice given by the specified person to the Board refusing the service of any relevant document on the specified person through the electronic service platform;

“opt-out period” means the period in which a notice of refusal is to be given by a specified person to the Board;

“relevant document” means a document, or a document of a class or type of document, specified in a notice of intention or general notice;

“specified person” means a person who has been assigned an account with the electronic service platform.

Service through electronic service platform

6.—(1)  Subject to paragraphs (2), (3) and (4), the Board may serve a relevant document on a specified person through the electronic service platform only if —

(a) the Board gives a notice of intention to the specified person; or

(b) the Board gives a general notice, and the Board receives a notice of consent in respect of the relevant document from the specified person.

(2)  The Board must not serve a relevant document on the specified person through the electronic service platform before the following:

(a) in the case of a notice of intention —

(i) the date specified in a notice of intention; or

(ii) the expiry of the opt-out period for a notice of refusal in respect of the relevant document, if later;

(b) in the case of a general notice —

(i) the date specified in the general notice; or

(ii) the date on which the Board receives a notice of consent in respect of the relevant document from the specified person, if later.

(3)  Subject to paragraph (4), where the Board receives a notice of refusal in respect of a relevant document from the specified person, the Board must not serve the relevant document on the specified person through the electronic service platform, unless the Board subsequently receives a notice of consent in respect of the relevant document from the specified person.

(4)  Where the Board receives a notice of refusal in respect of a relevant document from the specified person —

(a) after the expiry of the opt-out period for the notice of refusal; or

(b) after having received a notice of consent in respect of the relevant document from the specified person,

the Board may still serve the relevant document on the specified person through the electronic service platform not later than 7 days after the Board receives the notice of refusal.

(5)  A notice of intention —

(a) must be given in a manner which the Board reasonably believes will bring the notice of intention to the specified person’s attention;

(b) must state that the specified person may refuse to be served the relevant document through the electronic service platform by giving a notice of refusal to the Board; and

(c) must state that if the Board does not receive a notice of refusal from the specified person within the opt‑out period set out in the notice of intention, then the Board may serve the relevant document on the specified person through the electronic service platform on or after the date specified in the notice of intention.

(6)  The opt‑out period mentioned in paragraph (5)(c) must be at least 14 days after the notice of intention is given to the specified person.

(7)  The Board may, in any particular case, extend the opt‑out period and where the Board does so, references in this regulation to that period are to be read as references to the period so extended.

(8)  A notice of refusal or a notice of consent —

(a) must be in the form approved by the Board; and

(b) must be received by the Board in any manner specified by the Board.

(9)  A relevant document is served on a specified person through the electronic service platform if —

(a) the relevant document is capable of being retrieved by the specified person through the electronic service platform;

(b) the Board makes reasonable efforts to separately notify the specified person how and when the specified person may retrieve the relevant document through the electronic service platform; and

(c) the Board confirms that the specified person has retrieved the relevant document through the electronic service platform.

(10)  For purposes of paragraph (9)(b), the Board must send the notification —

(a) to the last e-mail address given by the specified person for the Board to communicate with the specified person;

(b) by an SMS message sent to the mobile telephone number given by the specified person for the Board to communicate with the specified person; or

(c) in accordance with regulation 3(1).

(11)  In this regulation —

“SMS message” means a text message sent using an electronic service that enables the transmission of short text messages from an end‑user on a mobile telephone to another mobile telephone through a telecommunication service;

“telecommunication service” has the meaning given by section 2 of the Telecommunications Act 1999.

Made on 13 September 2024.

NG CHEE KHERN

Permanent Secretary,
Ministry of Manpower,
Singapore.

[Plg&Pol/CPFPol/Legis/CPFSL/2024; AG/LEGIS/SL/36/2020/57]

(To be presented to Parliament under section 78(2) of the Central Provident Fund Act 1953).