LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS IN RELATION TO LATE SERVICE AND TECHNICAL BREACHES OF PAYMENT CLAIM IN THE BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY SECURITY OF PAYMENT ACT

Abstract

This dissertation discusses the Singapore’s Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act (“the Act”) in essence to streamline the shortcomings identified in payment claims. First, the Act focuses on the consequences of late claim being challenged for the reason that there was non-compliance to the terms of the underlying contractual or statutory provisions. Second, the Act targets the failure of the claimant to specify sufficiently the particular work and details to which the claim relates to. In such an event, the validity of the claim would be challenged, and the respondent would have preserved his rights to raise any cross-claim, counterclaim or to set-aside the claim in the adjudication. Moreover, if the adjudication determination is set aside, much time and effort would have been unnecessarily expended by the adjudicator and the parties that target the procedural in lieu of the substantive matters. The author intends to discuss this aspect of service of claims and technical breaches of claims that leads to an area of delay. In addition, the author challenges that an impartial act should consist of a balance in the interests of the party in relation to any action made under the provisions in the Act. The dissertation will conclude with proposal of reforms to specifically Section 10 with regards to payment claims of the Act.