Small Claims Tribunals Rules

These Rules apply to all proceedings under the Act.

The Rules of Court 2021 (G.N. No. S 914/2021) do not apply to the following:

Paragraph (1A)(a) does not affect the application of Order 23 of the Rules of Court 2021 to committal proceedings before a tribunal.

Every form or document relating to proceedings before a tribunal must be submitted through the electronic system, unless —

For the purposes of section 15(6) of the Act, the Registrar may permit a claim to be lodged by submitting the claim through the electronic system.

Every form must contain such particulars, and be accompanied by such documents, as may be specified by the tribunal, by the Registrar or in the form.

Any form set out in the electronic system or the practice directions may be used in any particular case with such variations as the circumstances of that case require.

An application under section 41(1) of the Act to set aside a tribunal’s or the Registrar’s order must be made in the appropriate Form within the period specified in section 41(2) of the Act.

[Deleted by S 710/2019 wef 01/11/2019]

Where the application is lodged in accordance with section 41(1) of the Act and this rule, the Registrar shall —

A copy of the application shall be attached by the Registrar to every notice under paragraph (3) other than that which is given to the applicant.

The tribunal may from time to time adjourn the hearing of the application on such conditions as it thinks just.

Where the order of the Registrar or a tribunal to which an application under section 41(1) of the Act refers is set aside, the tribunal may proceed to achieve a settlement, or to hear the claim or counterclaim as provided in these Rules, or to make any order or direction as it thinks just.

Where a party who has made an application under section 41(1) of the Act to set aside an order of the Registrar or a tribunal which was made in default of his appearance does not appear at the hearing of his application to set aside the order —-

The Registrar must keep the records of all proceedings under the Act, including the documents filed or tendered by parties to those proceedings.

The record required by this rule shall be kept in such manner and form as the Registrar may determine.

After an order has been made under section 35 of the Act in any proceedings, any person may, with the permission of the Registrar and on payment of the prescribed fee, search or inspect the record relating to those proceedings, and take a certified copy of the record or any part of it.

Any person aggrieved by any decision of the Registrar under paragraph (1) may appeal to a tribunal, and the tribunal may confirm, reverse or vary the decision of the Registrar.

Despite paragraph (1) —

[Deleted by S 710/2019 wef 01/11/2019]

An electronic filing and case management system is established for the tribunals.

The purposes of the electronic system are as follows:

The practice directions may provide guidance on the following matters:

Subject to paragraph (3), an individual must authenticate the individual’s identity using SingPass in order to access the electronic system to carry out an online transaction involving the individual.

Subject to paragraph (3), a person, who is authorised by an entity to carry out through the electronic system an online transaction involving the entity, must authenticate the identity of the entity using CorpPass in order to access the electronic system to carry out that transaction for the entity.

The Registrar may, on application by a party that is unable to authenticate the party’s identity using SingPass or CorpPass, issue the party with a username and a password to enable the party to access the electronic system to carry out an online transaction involving the party.

A party that is issued a username and a password under paragraph (3) —

An individual must not facilitate the use, by any other person, of the individual’s SingPass credentials to access the electronic system.

An entity must not facilitate the use, by any unauthorised person, of the CorpPass credentials of the entity to access the electronic system.

If a claim is submitted through the electronic system, the claim is treated as lodged on the date and at the time the first part of the transmission of the claim is received in the electronic system.

Despite paragraph (1), where the submission of a claim through the electronic system is unsuccessful or delayed because of a failure or inability of the electronic system to transmit or process the claim, the Registrar may —

Every application under paragraph (2)(a) must be accompanied by proof, to the satisfaction of the Registrar, of the matters relied on to support the application.

If a form or document (other than a claim) is submitted through the electronic system, the form or document is treated as filed on the date and at the time the first part of the transmission of the form or document is received in the electronic system.

Where the Registrar gives to a claimant, a respondent, or a person specified in section 19(1)(b)(ii) of the Act, a notice under rule 13(1) through the electronic system, the notice is treated as served on the claimant, respondent or person (as the case may be) 24 hours after the time the Registrar sends the notice to the claimant, respondent or person (as the case may be) through the electronic system.

Except as provided in paragraph (1), after the Registrar has notified a party to any proceedings before a tribunal that the party has been given the right to access the electronic system to view any document served on the party in relation to those proceedings —

Every counterclaim shall be made in the appropriate Form and shall be lodged before an order has been made by the tribunal in respect of the claim.

A counterclaim must be lodged together with the documents (if any) supporting the counterclaim, unless otherwise allowed by the Registrar.

Where a counterclaim is lodged in accordance with this rule, the Registrar shall fix the counterclaim together with the claim for consultation or hearing, whichever is pending.

A counterclaim may be proceeded with notwithstanding that an order is given in favour of the claimant or that the claim is stayed, discontinued, dismissed or settled.

Where a claimant and respondent establish their claim and counterclaim, respectively, and there is a balance in favour of one of the parties, the tribunal may make an order as regards the balance.

These Rules apply to a counterclaim as they apply to a claim, with the following modifications:

[Deleted by S 710/2019 wef 01/11/2019]

A tribunal or the Registrar may, at any stage of the proceedings and on the application of a party in the appropriate Form, allow that party to amend that party’s claim or counterclaim (as the case may be) in such manner as the tribunal or Registrar may direct.

[Deleted by S 710/2019 wef 01/11/2019]

A tribunal may on its own motion or on the application of a party in the appropriate Form, correct any clerical mistake, or error arising from an accidental slip or omission, in an order of a tribunal or the Registrar.

The Registrar may on its own motion or on the application of a party in the appropriate Form, correct any clerical mistake, or error arising from an accidental slip or omission, in an order of the Registrar.

A claimant may withdraw his claim, and a respondent may withdraw his counterclaim, by filing the appropriate Form with the Registry.

The fact that a party has withdrawn a claim or counterclaim is not a defence to a subsequent action for the same, or substantially the same, cause of action.

Subject to paragraph (2), if no party to a claim has, for more than 6 months, taken any step or proceeding in the claim that appears from records maintained in the Registry, the claim is deemed to have been discontinued.

Paragraph (1) does not apply where the claim has been stayed pursuant to an order of the Registrar or the tribunal, or an order of court.

In this rule, “claim” means a claim lodged on or after 1 April 2022.

The Registrar may communicate with any party (or representative of a party) —

Where any party (or representative of a party) agrees to communicate with the Registrar by a means of communication mentioned in paragraph (1), that party (or representative) must monitor that means of communication for any communication from the Registrar to that party (or representative), until the conclusion of the proceedings involving that party (or representative).

Any document that is to be served on any person in any proceedings before a tribunal or the Registrar must be served —

Despite paragraph (1), a tribunal or the Registrar may, in any particular case, order that a document be served on a person by any other means that the tribunal or Registrar considers proper.

In proving service of any document sent by registered post to any person in accordance with paragraph (1)(b), it is sufficient to prove that the envelope containing the document was properly addressed to that person, stamped and posted by registered post.

Service of a document sent by registered post in accordance with paragraph (1)(b) takes effect at the time when the document would in the ordinary course of post be delivered (even if the document is returned undelivered).

Where a claim is lodged in accordance with section 15 of the Act, the Registrar shall —

The Registrar may give the notice under paragraph (1) through the electronic system or by any other means that the Registrar considers proper.

The Registrar may from time to time adjourn the consultation on such conditions as he thinks just.

The Registrar may, as part of the consultation, fix a time and place for the mediation of the dispute between the parties under section 18A of the Act.

The Registrar may permit the mediation to be conducted —

[Deleted by S 710/2019 wef 01/11/2019]

Each of the notices mentioned in section 19(1)(a) and (b) of the Act must be in the appropriate Form.

A copy of the claim shall be attached by the Registrar to every notice under paragraph (1) other than that which is given to the claimant.

[Deleted by S 710/2019 wef 01/11/2019]

If a tribunal magistrate who commenced the hearing of a claim is unable to complete the hearing, the Presiding Judge of the State Courts may nominate another tribunal magistrate to continue the hearing.

The tribunal magistrate who continues the hearing may, in the interest of justice and without material prejudice to the parties to the proceedings —

When there is a change of tribunal magistrate, any party to the proceedings may apply for a witness to be summoned and heard again and the tribunal magistrate must allow the application unless —

Every summons issued under rule 16 shall be served on the person to whom it is directed, either by personally delivering it to him or, if he refuses to accept it, by bringing it to his attention, or by sending the summons by registered post in the manner specified in rule 12A(1)(b), within a reasonable time before the time specified in the summons for his attendance.

A summons must not be served on any person outside Singapore.

A tribunal or the Registrar may direct a party who served a summons to file a declaration of service in the appropriate Form.

The obligation on a witness summoned under rule 16 to attend any hearing shall extend to any time and place to which the hearing may be adjourned.

The following factors are relevant to a tribunal’s determination as to whether to make an order of costs under section 35(1)(f) of the Act in any proceedings:

Where the Registrar is empowered under the Act to make an order under section 35 of the Act in any proceedings, any costs that the Registrar orders under section 35(1)(f) of the Act in favour of a party to the proceedings must not exceed the disbursements incurred by that party under the Act.

Paragraph (2) does not affect the Registrar’s power under section 17(2) of the Act to make an order under section 35 of the Act to give effect to the terms of a settlement agreed to by the parties to a dispute.

Any costs ordered under section 35(1)(f) of the Act must be paid within 7 days after the date of the order, unless a tribunal or the Registrar directs otherwise.

An appeal to the tribunal from an order made by the Registrar under section 17(3) of the Act shall be brought by filing with the Registrar a notice of appeal in the appropriate Form within one month after the date of the order.

The appellant must serve the notice of appeal on the respondent within 7 days after the date of filing of the notice.

An appeal under this rule does not operate as a stay of the proceedings in which the appeal is brought, unless a tribunal or the Registrar orders otherwise.

An application for permission under section 38(1A) of the Act to appeal against any order of a tribunal shall be made to a District Court in the appropriate Form.

The appellant must file his application for permission to appeal with the Registrar within 14 days after the date on which the order being appealed from was made.

The applicant must serve the application on the respondent within 14 days after the date of filing of the application.

A respondent who intends to oppose the application must, within 14 days after being served with the application, file and serve on the applicant a response in the appropriate Form.

An applicant under rule 20F may, without the permission of a District Court, withdraw his application at any time before the application is served on the respondent, by filing the appropriate Form with the Registry.

Where the application is served on the respondent, the applicant may withdraw the application —

When granting permission under paragraph (2)(a), a District Court may make such order as to costs as it thinks just.

An appeal to the General Division of the High Court under section 38(1) of the Act against an order of a tribunal must be brought by filing with the Registrar a notice of appeal in the appropriate Form within one month after the date on which permission to bring that appeal is given under section 38(1A) of the Act.

Notice of appeal may be given either in respect of the whole or in respect of any specified part of the order of the tribunal.

Every such notice shall state the whole or part only, and what part, of the order is complained of, and contain an address for service.

The Registrar shall assign a number to the notice of appeal and enter the appeal on the list of appeals.

The appellant must serve the notice of appeal on the respondent (or the respondent’s solicitors) within 7 days after the date of filing of the notice.

When a notice of appeal has been filed, the tribunal magistrate who made the order shall certify in writing the grounds of the order; but delay or failure so to certify shall not prevent the appellant from proceeding with his appeal.

As soon as possible after notice of appeal has been filed, the Registrar shall cause to be served on the appellant at the appellant’s address for service specified in the notice of appeal a notice that a copy of the record of proceedings is available.

The record of proceedings shall consist of a certified copy of the grounds of the order and a certified copy of the notes of proceedings taken at the hearing of the claim or counterclaim.

An application to an appropriate court under section 10 of the Act must be made by originating application under Order 6 of the Rules of Court 2021.

The court hearing the application may order the proceedings in the tribunal to be stayed until after the final determination of the application.

Where an order is made by the General Division of the High Court for the transfer of any proceedings from a tribunal to the General Division of the High Court —

Where an order is made by a District Court or a Magistrate’s Court for the transfer of any proceedings from a tribunal to the District Court or Magistrate’s Court (as the case may be), the registrar of the State Courts must give notice of the transfer to every party to the proceedings.

The fees specified in the Schedule are payable for proceedings and matters under the Act.

A fee specified in the Schedule must be paid to the Registry by the relevant person specified in the Schedule —

Despite paragraph (2), the Registrar may, in any proceedings and on such terms as the Registrar thinks fit —

Any party requesting a refund under paragraph (3)(b) must make a request in the appropriate Form to the Registrar within one month (or such longer period as the Registrar may allow) after the date on which the reason for the refund arose.

A tribunal or the Registrar may, on such terms as the tribunal or the Registrar thinks just, by order extend or shorten the period within which a person is required or authorised by these Rules, or by any direction or order of a tribunal or the Registrar, to do any act in any proceedings before a tribunal.

A tribunal or the Registrar may extend the period mentioned in paragraph (1) despite that the application for the extension is not made until after the expiration of that period.

The period within which a party is required or authorised by these Rules, or by any direction or order of a tribunal or the Registrar, to serve, file or amend any claim or other document in the proceedings may be extended by consent (given in writing) of the other party to the proceedings without an order of a tribunal or the Registrar being made for that purpose, unless a tribunal or the Registrar directs otherwise.

This rule does not apply to any of the following periods:

The Interpretation Act 1965 does not apply to the calculation of time in these Rules.

The word “month” means a calendar month unless the context otherwise requires.

Where an act is required to be done within a specified period after or from a specified date, the period begins immediately after that date.

Where an act is required to be done within or not less than a specified period before a specified date, the period ends immediately before that date.

Where an act is required to be done a specified number of clear days before or after a specified date, at least that number of days must intervene between the day on which the act is done and that date.

If the period in question is 6 days or less, any day that is a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday is to be excluded in the calculation of time.

Where the time prescribed by these Rules, or by any judgment, order or direction, for doing any act expires on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, the act is in time if done on the next day, not being a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday.