History
On 1 May 1990, the then transportation unit of Singapore's Public Works Department (PWD) instituted a quota limit to vehicles called the COE when rising affluence in the city-state catapulted land transport network usage and previous measure to curb vehicle ownership by simply increasing road taxes was ineffective in controlling vehicle population growth. The premise was that the small city-state had limited land resources, ie. limited supply of roads and car parks / parking lots, (with scarce land being managed to have a greater emphasis on providing an adequate supply of homes), along with demand for vehicle ownership spiralling out of control, would result in traffic conditions exceeding the criterion of a healthy road network that is sustainable by developments in land transport infrastructure resulting in gridlock. Along with a controversial congestion tax calledSystem
Before buying a new vehicle, potential vehicle owners in Singapore are required by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) to first place a monetary bid for a Certificate of Entitlement (COE). The number of available COEs is governed by a quota system called the Vehicle Quota System (VQS) and is announced by LTA in April of each year with a review in October for possible adjustments for the period of one year starting from May. Approximately one-twelfth of the yearly quota is auctioned off each month in a sealed-bid, uniform price auction system and successful bidders pay the lowest winning bid.Vehicle Quota System (VQS)
The number of COEs available to the public is regulated by the Vehicle Quota System (VQS) that is calculated every 6 months based on the following conditions: # Actual number of vehicles taken off the roads (i.e. number of vehicles de-registered) # Allowable growth in vehicle population # Adjustments arising from temporary COEs that have expired or were cancelled.Formula
Since the change in the total motor vehicle population is given by the number of registrations minus the number of de-registrations and any unallocated quota in a given year may be carried over to the following year, the quota formula is as follows: : In the formula above, the subscript denotes calendar year and the subscript denotes quota year (May to April). Initially, projected deregistrations for (calendar) year were simply taken to be equal to actual deregistrations in but from quota year 1999–2000 onwards, a projected number of deregistrations has been used. Each year, the quota is set to allow for a targeted percent growth in the total motor vehicle population, plus additional quota licenses to cover the number of motor vehicles that will be deregistered during the (calendar) year, plus any unallocated quota licenses from the previous quota year.Validity
The holder of a COE is allowed to own a vehicle for an initial period of 10 years, after which they must scrap or export their vehicle or bid for another COE at the prevailing rate if they wish to continue using their vehicle for an intended remaining lifespan. At the end of the 10-year COE period, vehicle owners may choose to deregister their vehicle or to revalidate their COEs for another 5-year or 10-year period by paying the Prevailing Quota Premium, which is the three-month moving average of the Quota Premium for the respective vehicle category. You do not need to bid for a new COE to renew the existing COE of your vehicle. A 5-year COE cannot be further renewed, which means that at the end of a 5-year COE, the vehicle will have to be de-registered and either scrapped or exported to another country other than Singapore. Depending on the value of the COE at the time of renewal vehicle owners are subjected to a somewhat emotional dilemma of whether to pay for a new COE which can amount to more than the market value of the vehicle or to deregister their vehicle. The emotional dilemma is certainly enhanced when the vehicle owner is forced to deregister and scrap an otherwise road worthy vehicle due to lack of time or insufficient funds to afford the COE at the prevailing rate. For comparison in terms of vehicle value to COE value a Second Hand 2007 Mercedes-Benz C200K with a COE expiring in 2017 was advertised at S$86,800. As of November 2013 for a category B Car with a displacement above 1600cc the COE is priced at S$84,578.Auction process
COE biddings starts on the first and third Monday of the month and typically lasts for three days to the following Wednesday. Bidding duration will be pushed further in some circumstances, including public holidays. Bidding results can be obtained through the local media on the same day or on a websitCOE Category Refinement in 2013
In September 2013, The COE system has been refined to include a new criterion for Category A cars. Under the change, the engine power of Cat A cars should not exceed 97 kilowatts (kW). This is equivalent to about 130 brake horsepower. This is in addition to the previous criterion of engine capacity of Cat A cars not exceeding 1600 cubic centimetres. However, cars with engine power output exceeding 97 kW will be classified under Category B in COE bidding exercises starting February 2014 despite having engine capacity below 1600 cubic centimetres. The review of the COE categories' criteria was because LTA wanted to differentiate and regulate the buying of mass market and premium cars under Cat A in a bid to control COE prices that hovered closer and closer to S$100,000.Categories
Initially, COEs were divided into 8 categories but after many revisions, the system has been simplified to just five categories. Categories A, B & D are non-transferable. Taxis used to be classed under category A but issuance of COEs became unrestricted from August 2012 onwards.Prior to May 1999
Current Categories
Historical records
Car growth rate
COE range
References
External links
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