Companies linked to haze may also face financial and commercial repercussions separate from criminal liability.
Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu speaking in parliament on Nov 4, 2026.
Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu speaking in parliament on Nov 4, 2026.
SINGAPORE: Companies linked to transboundary haze could face fines of up to S$20 million (US$16 million) and curbs on business dealings under amendments to Singapore’s haze law proposed on Wednesday (Nov 4).
The Transboundary Haze Pollution (Amendment) Bill was introduced and read a second time under a rare Certificate of Urgency signed by the president, following Singapore's worst haze episode in more than a decade.
The certificate allows a Bill to be introduced, debated and passed through all three readings in a single parliamentary sitting.
The last Bill passed this way was the Insurance (Amendment) Bill in 2024, which blocked German insurer Allianz from taking a stake in Singapore’s Income Insurance.
In a press release on Wednesday, the National Environment Agency (NEA) said amendments to the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act (THPA) – which was enacted in 2014 – would give authorities more tools to investigate commercial links and hold entities accountable. They would also allow earlier intervention and make enforcement easier.
Singapore experienced haze from Sep 4 to Oct 25, with air quality reaching the unhealthy range on 33 days and very unhealthy range on five days.
Senior Minister K Shanmugam and Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu had said earlier that the government would strengthen legislation where necessary to tackle companies linked to the haze.
Ms Fu told parliament that enforcing laws against overseas activities was complex.
“We need effective powers to protect Singaporeans and hold errant entities accountable, while respecting the sovereignty of other countries, upholding international law, and avoiding extraterritorial overreach,” she said.
The recent haze episode showed the status quo was “not tenable”, she added.
Singapore needed better ways to obtain and verify information, trace complex corporate relationships and impose meaningful consequences on errant entities, even where criminal prosecution proved difficult. The government also needed to intervene before haze reached Singapore, she added.
Last month, the NEA issued Preventive Measure Notices under Section 9 of the THPA to 10 Indonesian companies, requiring them to extinguish or prevent fires, stop burning and submit action plans.
It also issued Section 10 notices to 10 Singapore-registered companies, the first time it has done so under the Act. The notices sought information on their linked companies, Indonesian land concessions and fire prevention measures.
Some of the companies said earlier this week that they had submitted a first tranche of information.
PRIVATE SECTOR ASSESSORS
To establish who is responsible and how different parties are connected to the burning, the director-general of environmental protection would be able to require entities with suspected links to haze in Singapore to appoint expert private sector assessors.
The director-general would specify the assessors and the terms of assessment in a direction, and the entity must engage the assessors at its own expense. The assessors would submit reports to NEA to help it establish facts and decide on further action, if any.
“To be clear, a direction to appoint an assessor does not necessarily mean that the entity has committed or is suspected of having committed an offence. It is meant to establish the relevant facts,” Ms Fu said.
NEA said decisions on enforcement remain with the relevant authorities, and courts will still determine liability.