Political Donations Act 2000 · 2020 Revised Edition · Part 2 · Donations to Political Associations
9. Return of donations
Feedback & supportWhere a donation is received by a political association and it is not immediately decided that the association should (for whatever reason) refuse the donation, all reasonable steps must be taken without delay by or on behalf of the political association to verify or, so far as the following is not apparent, ascertain —
donation
“donation”, in relation to a candidate at an election or at a presidential election, means —(a)any gift of money or other property to the candidate or his or her election agent;(b)any money spent (otherwise than by the candidate as permitted by any other written law) in paying any expenses incurred, directly or indirectly, by the candidate or by his or her election agent or any person authorised by his or her election agent;(c)any money lent to the candidate or his or her election agent otherwise than on commercial terms;(d)the provision otherwise than on commercial terms of any property, services or facilities (including the services of any person) to the candidate or his or her election agent; or(e)the provision of any sponsorship in relation to the candidate,that is given, spent, lent or provided (whether before or after he or she becomes a candidate) for the purposes of the candidate’s election.(2) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,
the donor’s identity;
whether the donor is a permissible donor; and
if the donor is a permissible donor, all such details in respect of the donor as are required by the Schedule to be given in respect of a donor of a recordable donation.
Despite section 6, if a political association receives any donation that it is prohibited from accepting by virtue of section 8, or that the association has decided that it should for any reason refuse, then —
political association
“political association” means —(a)a political party or an organisation that has as one of its objects or activities the promotion or procuring of the election to Parliament or to the office of President of a candidate or candidates endorsed by the organisation; or(b)an organisation (not being a branch of any organisation) whose objects or activities relate wholly or mainly to politics in Singapore and that is declared by the Minister, by order in the Gazette, to be a political association for the purposes of this Act;
in the case of any anonymous donation, the requirements of section 10(1) must be complied with in respect of the whole donation; or
in any other case, the donation must be sent back, or a payment of an equivalent amount must be sent, to the person who made the donation or any other person appearing to be acting on the donor’s behalf,within a period of 30 days beginning with the date when the donation is so received by the political association.
For the purposes of this Act, a donation received by a political association is taken to have been accepted by the political association unless —
the steps mentioned in subsection (2)(a) or (b), whichever is applicable, have been taken within the time limited by that subsection; and
a record can be produced of the receipt of the donation and —
of the required steps being taken in relation to the donation as mentioned in subsection (2)(a); or
of the return of the donation, or the equivalent amount, as mentioned in subsection (2)(b).