More than 2,000 applications made for BCRS grace period until Oct. 31 to clear unlabelled stock
Mostly small retailers.
Over 2,000 applications for a grace period were submitted to the National Environment Agency (NEA) until Oct. 31, allowing eligible smaller retailers and non-profit organizations to clear their stock of unlabelled beverages. The applications primarily came from smaller retailers like provision shops, neighbourhood convenience stores, and standalone food shops.
The NEA announced the grace period on Sep. 18, recognizing the additional time these smaller businesses needed to deplete their stock and transition to the Beverage Container Return Scheme (BCRS).
Out of the over 1,600 applications, 85% were approved and processed by the NEA, with the remaining applications being expedited, particularly those submitted recently. Various factors, including the nature of the business, the number of outlets owned, the existing stocks of non-BCRS-labelled products, the applicants' ability to clear the stocks by Sep. 30, and their plans to deplete the stocks, were considered during the assessment process.
The NEA emphasized that retailers granted the grace period should not bring in any new non-BCRS-labelled stock. They were also instructed to label the non-BCRS-labelled stock for customers, who would be charged a 10-cent deposit. Applicants who did not receive the grace period were reminded to clear their remaining non-BCRS-labelled stock by Sep. 30.
Non-profit organizations needing a grace period were advised to register with the NEA by Sep. 30 at go.gov.sg/retailer-non-bcrs-stock-extension-request. The NEA will evaluate each submission based on the retailer's circumstances and notify applicants of the outcome. For non-profit groups, the list of those granted the grace period is available at go.gov.sg/bcrs-info-for-industry, and it will be updated progressively as more applications are assessed and approved.
Non-profit organizations granted the grace period will not be allowed to sell their non-BCRS-labelled beverage stock. The BCRS scheme will officially enter full implementation on Oct. 1, when all retailers must stop taking in new supplies of unlabelled beverages, as it is an offence to do so. Offenders may face fines up to S$10,000 or a jail term of up to three months. Non-labelled stock, such as imports from overseas suppliers, can be amended manually or using a labeling machine.
Written by urgent.news from Mothership's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
