Are you a dealer? Here are 9 things you need to know about the LTA changes

Being in the vehicle trading industry, most if not all of you should have known about the changes LTA made to the vehicle ownership transfer process on 26 November 2018. While the digitalisation of the transfer process is meant to facilitate a smoother transaction, some parts of the process might be confusing to many, especially during this initial transition period.

Here are some handy pointers that will help you along.

From 26 November 2018 onwards, SingPass holder will log in to One.Motoring portal to transfer the ownership of vehicles

1. The digital transfer process has kicked off on 26 November 2018, making the transaction PIN used by SingPass holders invalid. However, some foreigners may not have SingPass as it is optional for them to apply for one.

Hence, for those without SingPass, they will continue to use the transaction PIN and M01 forms to transfer the ownership of vehicles.

2. The seller will have to log in to One.Motoring to apply for the vehicle ownership transfer. Upon the acceptance by the buyer, a financing cycle of 8 days will be triggered (the vehicle will be tagged during this period for the financing to be settled). With the financing settled, the buyer has the next 5 calendar days to confirm the vehicle transfer, completing the whole vehicle ownership transfer process.

The entire process of the transfer of vehicle ownership is portrayed in this flowchart

3. When a vehicle transfer has been accepted while the car is still under financing, the financial cycle will be triggered, and the vehicle will be tagged up to 8 calendar days for the financing to be settled.

If the vehicle financing has been settled and the financing tag has been lifted by the finance company, the buyer can log in to confirm the vehicle transfer the second time without the need to wait for the 8 days cycle to be up.

4. Do not accept the transfer by logging in using CorpPass. You will have to login using LTAlink for a temporary transfer of vehicle ownership. If vehicle ownership transfer is accepted via CorpPass, it will be a permanent transfer which will add to the vehicle's transfer count.

Dealers need to log in to LTALink for temporary transfer of vehicle ownership

5. After the seller applies to transfer the vehicle ownership and the buyer has accepted the vehicle transfer, LTA will notify the Hire Purchase, Finance and Leasing Association of Singapore (HPFLAS) of the transaction immediately. HPFLAS will then inform their member-finance company of the transfer application via the registered email address. There will be a follow up reminder email 2 days later. As such, you should update your particulars with HPLAS (tel : 67335115) if you are a block dealer to ensure that you receive the notification.

6. In this new process of vehicle ownership transfer, the lodging of Form B will automatically be done on the 8^th day regardless of the vehicle's financing status. So, financers and block dealers need to be on their toes and quickly issue Deed of Indemnity (DOI) to stop the transfer if the financing of the vehicle has not been settled before then.

The DOI is a cumbersome document to submit, requiring a security deposit of $5,000, the company seal and lawyers to sign off

7. However, the DOI is cumbersome to submit. Finance companies will need to pay a security deposit of $5,000 and get lawyers to sign off on the deed, complete with company seal.

Hence finance companies will want to avoid submitting this if they can help it. Thus, the onus now falls on the finance company to chase for the full settlement before the 8 days financing cycle ends.

8. When applying to transfer a vehicle to your dealership, we recommend you to ask the seller to put the phone number of your staff doing the e-transfer. This way, your admin staff can immediately log in to accept the transfer, minimising any possible hiccups along the process. Alternatively, you can put in the phone number of your dealership's person-in-charge so that he is informed of cars pending transfer to your company's name.

We recommend you to ask the seller to enter the phone number of your staff doing the e-transfer to facilitate the process

9. According to LTA, Electronic Service Agents (ESAs) using Netrust tokens to perform 'Seller to Dealer (Temporary Transfer)' and 'Dealer to Buyer (Permanent Transfer)' functions will receive email notifications. Do remember to update your email address at LTALink > Finance > Update AA particulars > Update, to ensure that you receive the email notifications.

If you do not see the 'Update AA particulars' section, you will have to submit this form to LTA, indicating 'YES' for special roles required. The physical form is to be mailed to LTA, Vehicle Registration & Licensing Service Operations Division, 10 Sin Ming Drive, Singapore 575701

sgCarMart Financial Services is now offering floor stock financing to serve the needs of our car dealers. To set up a credit facility, kindly call us at 67412588 for an appointment.