It is a popular activity among Dutch people: refueling cheaply across the border. In Asia, the price difference on either side of the border can be even greater, but one small country has devised a clever trick to minimize the loss of tax revenue as much as possible.
Driving in the Netherlands is expensive, very expensive. That’s not news and also applies (often to a slightly lesser extent) to many other European countries, but it can get even crazier. Take Singapore. In the city-state, you first need to have a COE, a Certificate of Entitlement, to be allowed to buy a car at all. Then you pay ARF over the purchase value. This is a staggered purchase tax, the rate of which depends on the value of the car, ranging from 100 to as much as 320 percent, making even a simple mid-range car in Singapore cost a fortune. The rates have now also been significantly increased, because in 2020 we still reported ARF percentages of a maximum of ‘only’ 180 percent. Then there is also a kind of road tax (many hundreds of dollars per year) and cars of 10 years and older are ‘punished’ with a higher rate.
The current Toyota menu in Singapore. The base price of the Corolla is converted to 111,218 euros. Bizarre!
The only thing about driving in Singapore that doesn’t cause heart failure for Dutch people is refueling. A liter of fuel costs about 1.90 euros, which is in line with what we are used to here. However, you experience that in a different way when it turns out that in Malaysia, even from the furthest point in Singapore only about 50 kilometers away, you can fill your tank for about 40 euro cents per liter. For such a huge difference, we certainly shouldn’t knock on the doors of the Germans and Belgians, and it is therefore worthwhile to ‘hop’ from Singapore to the neighboring country to get a fresh load of gasoline.
Such a Huracàn STO is even more expensive in Singapore than in the Netherlands, and then the tank still has to be filled (photo: Roy Kleijwegt)
At least, in theory. In practice, it doesn’t work that way, because you are not allowed to leave Singapore with a fuel tank that is less than three-quarters full. You read that right: the ‘Three-Quarter Tank Rule’ is a thing and stipulates that vehicles registered in Singapore may not leave the country with a tank that is less than 75 percent full. This applies to vehicles that run on gasoline, diesel and CNG and is reportedly actually checked by Singaporean customs. Drivers who want to cross the border with a too empty tank reportedly risk a fine of up to 500 dollars. Moreover, they have to turn around to fill the tank anyway. Anyone who thinks they are being smart and messing with their fuel gauge may have to explain that to the judge. Well, at least that’s how those tax dollars flow in the right direction…
Singapore is not ashamed of this measure. The Immigration & Checkpoints Authority even recently made a funny Instagram reel about it, in which a driver is pointed out to his too empty tank. What a country.