Prepare your purses: LTA reveals big-time fee hikes for foreign vehicles

It’s to ensure similar costs with owning a local vehicle.

The Land Transportation Authority (LTA) revealed a more than 50% increase for the Vehicle Entry Permit (VEP) fee, and a 400% increase for the Goods Vehicle Permit (GVP) fee, starting 1 August. The VEP will increase from $20 to $35, while the GVP will be a bit more of a shocker, from $10 to $40.

LTA says that it periodically reviews foreign vehicle permit fees to ensure that the cost of owning and using a foreign registered vehicle in Singapore is commensurate with that of owning and using a Singapore-registered vehicle. The cost difference has widened in recent years, giving rise to the need to revise the VEP and GVP.

VEP-chargeable hours will remain unchanged: from 2am to 12nn on weekdays during Singapore’s June and December school holidays, and from 2am to 5pm on weekdays outside these two school holiday periods.

According to LTA, the VEP increase only applies to foreign-registered cars and will not affect buses or taxis. The VEP fee for foreign-registered motorcycles will remain the same at $4 per day.

Here’s more from the report:

Owners of foreign-registered goods vehicles can continue to purchase the GVP at the current fee of S$10 for July 2014. However, any GVP with a validity period beyond July 2014 will be charged at S$40 per calendar month.
LTA will continue to periodically review the VEP and GVP fees to take into account changes in ownership and usage costs of foreign-registered and Singapore-registered vehicles.

More information on the revised VEP and GVP fees for foreign-registered cars and goods vehicles is available at the Woodlands and Tuas Checkpoints. Motorists can also visit www.lta.gov.sg > ‘Roads & Motoring’ > ‘Driving In and Out of Singapore’, or contact LTA at 1800-2255 582 (1800-CALL LTA) if in Singapore, or 65-62255 582 if calling from other countries.