This article encapsulates and evaluates the 2023 decisions of the Singapore courts on revenue and tax law. It is authored by Tan Kay Kheng.

The forfeiture of the option fee in the context of an aborted sale and purchase of real property is generally uncontroversial in typical transactions but the same may not be said for non-typical transactions. This case note discusses the approach and reasoning of the Appellate Division of the High Court, and the ruling by the General Division of the High Court that the forfeiture of sums paid over to the vendor in this case was penal.

A delegation from Vietnam’s Ministry of Justice, led by Deputy Minister Mai Lương Khôi, recently visited Germany to enhance bilateral legal and judicial cooperation. This visit is part of the ongoing Việt Nam–Germany partnership established by the joint statement signed in 2008.