ABSTRACT
Singapore has a highly developed free market economy, with a large manufacturing base, but also increasingly important high-tech as well as services sectors. E-commerce in Singapore is developing apace, with cross-border online shopping set to balloon, with predictions that the value of online spending will outstrip offline shopping by 2020. Caveat emptor remains the backbone of the consumer protection and enforcement framework in Singapore. A pantheon of governmental and quasi-governmental agencies regulates market entry of consumer goods and services either by actual inspection or the formulation of standards, as well as conducting post-entry surveillance. The prototypical consumer protection legislation in Singapore is its Consumer Protection Act of 1975. The fundamental government approach to consumer policy remains that of caveat emptor, with specific exceptions carved out by the various aforementioned pieces of legislation. As tourism is a major contributor to the Singapore economy, an even faster-track is put in place for tourist disputes.
