Scrapping your car is one of the LTA (Land Transport Authority)-approved ways to dispose of a vehicle in Singapore. But to scrap your car, you need to cancel its registration with the LTA first.
Today’s guide walks you through the process of deregistering your vehicle in Singapore when scrapping.
Canceling your vehicle’s registration with the LTA in Singapore means that you can’t use it or keep it in the country any longer.
After deregistering your vehicle, you must get rid of it either by scrapping, exporting, or temporarily storing it at an LTA-designated EPZ (Export Processing Zone) to be exported.
To own and use a car in Singapore, you must obtain a COE (certificate of Entitlement) and then register the vehicle.
A COE allows you to keep and use the car for 10 years. After this period, you can extend your COE if you still want to use the car or cancel the registration if you don’t.
You can renew your car’s COE multiple times, and you can also deregister the car before its COE expires.
Here are the steps you need to follow to cancel your car’s registration in Singapore if you’re planning on scrapping it:
Deregistering your car on your own can save you some money, but you’ll be responsible for gathering and submitting all the required paperwork to the authorities, which can be quite a hassle.
You’ll also have to find a trusted scrap yard to get the job done, which is a much easier task than locating a reliable exporter.
Additionally, you need to make sure you begin the process at a suitable time before the COE expires (at least 1 month).
That said, you can save yourself time, effort, and trouble by hiring an authorized scrap car dealer to handle the entire deregistration process for you.
This step is a must if you’re scrapping a car in Singapore; you’ll be at risk of paying a fine or spending time in prison otherwise.
Cancelling registration changes the ownership of the car from its previous owner to the scrap yard. Any pending car loans and road taxes must be cleared before this process.
If you’re eligible for COE or PARF rebates, now’s the time to apply for encashment.
You only qualify for money back if you deregister your vehicle before its COE expiration date, referred to as a COE rebate. This amount depends on how much time is remaining of the car’s COE.
If your car is younger than 10 years upon deregistration, You may also get money back in the form of PARF (Preferential Additional Registration)
If you opt for an LTA-approved scrap car dealer to sort the registration process for you, ask them to provide you with a car valuation.
If you’re handling the process solo, you’ll need to find an LTA-approved scrap yard and get a valuation.
Either way, it’s better to drop by for a physical car valuation than do it via phone.
Finally, you must submit proof of the car’s disposal to the LTA within a month of canceling its registration. Otherwise, you may end up paying a $2,000 fine or do jail time of up to three months. .