Singapore Accounting Services

What does ECI mean?

ECI, also known as Estimated Chargeable Income, is an estimate of a company’s chargeable income for a Year of Assessment (YA). One of the annual corporate compliance requirements in Singapore is the filing of ECI with IRAS, Singapore’s tax authority, for the YA within 3 months after the end of the financial year. A company with a zero income will still have to file a ‘NIL’  ECI.

Understanding ECI

The ECI statement must include your company’s revenue, excluding items such as gain on disposal of fixed assets. Hence, if your company is an investment holding company, the principal source of income is the investment income.

Your firm is required to disclose revenue data in your Income Tax Return (Form C). From 1 Jan 2009, companies will also be required to declare the revenue amount in the ECI Form. Information on the revenue of businesses is one of the key economic data used for policy-making, as well as for the regular assessment of performance and development of industries and businesses.

Where audited accounts are not available, you may refer to your company’s management accounts for the purpose of declaring the revenue amount. Should the revenue amount based on audited accounts be different from that declared in the ECI Form, and there is no change in your ECI, you are not required to revise the revenue figure.

Who needs to file the ECI?

Your company has to furnish its Estimated Chargeable Income (ECI) within 3 months after the end of its financial year end. If your company estimates its chargeable income as zero, you still must file a “NIL” ECI return.

Advantage of filing ECI early

IRAS provides flexible payment options for companies that submit their ECI statements early. They may pay their tax in installments. The earlier the ECI statement is submitted, the higher the number of payment installments bestowed to your firm. For example, companies that e-file their ECI by the 26th of the month immediately after the financial year-end may pay their taxes in 10 installments. If the ECI is filed on the 26th of the second month after the financial year-end, there are 8 payment installments awarded to that company, and 6 installments for companies filing their ECI on the 26th of the third month.

Failure to comply with filing of ECI

After the three-month grace period has elapsed and the company has failed to comply with the ECI requirement, IRAS shall issue a Notice of Assessment (NOA) based on its estimation of that particular company’s income. The company then has one month from the date of IRAS’ NOA to submit its written objection should it not agree with IRAS’ estimated assessment. Otherwise, the NOA is recognized as final and the same holds true despite differences on the information of revenues declared on it is Form C and the accounts submitted subsequently.

Need Assistance?

At Rikvin, our team of accounts professionals is ready to help you with your ECI submission. Our ECI Submission Service includes but is not limited to the following accounting functions:

• Obtain an e-Access code to file ECI online
• Preparation of ECI
• Advisement on determination of Financial Year End

Related Topics

Compliance Matters with ACRA & IRAS

Most private limited companies in Singapore are not required to have their companies accounts audited if they satisfy certain conditions.

Exempt private limited companies, which have no corporate shareholders and no more than 20 individual shareholders, and have a  turnover of less than S$5 million for the accounting year can file un-audited accounts. Dormant companies are also exempt from submitting audited accounts.

All other companies are required to appoint an auditor within 3 months of incorporation and be prepared to submit audited accounts to ACRA. The accounts must be audited annually.

Rikvin provides a full accounts services, from drafting of un-audited financial reports for exempt companies to offering auditing services through our associate audit firms. Our auditing services include all the provision of financial statements designed specifically to comply with ACRA’s and IRAS’ statutory requirements.

What is XBRL?

eXtensible Business Reporting Language or XBRL is a language for the electronic communication of business and financial data worldwide. XBRL is an open-source software that enables the organization and management of financial data for research and analysis. It also facilitates the communication of financial information online and amongst businesses with significant accuracy and reliability.

The Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority of Singapore (ACRA) has adopted XBRL as part of its overall strategy to streamline financial reporting and to enable the flow of financial information to the international business community, thus promoting a pro-enterprise environment.

XBRL filing requirements

With effect from 1 November 2007, all Singapore incorporated companies, which are unlimited or limited by shares, must submit financial statements in XBRL format. Others that are allowed to continue to file financial statements in PDF format are as follows:

1. Companies limited by guarantee will be able to continue filing financial statements in PDF format as tabled at the Annual General Meeting;
2. Companies that are commercial banks, merchant banks, registered insurers and finance institutions as stated in the MAS Financial Institutions Directory;
3. All companies that are permitted by law to prepare in accordance with accounting standards other than Singapore or International Financial Reporting Standards.

Filing financial statements in XBRL

There are two options available in preparing financial statements in XBRL.

1. Option A _Full XBRL
2. Option B _Partial XBRL

Option A _Full XBRL

A company filing its Annual Returns can prepare the financial statements in full XBRL if:

• the company uses FS Manager to prepare the full set of financial statements for tabling at the Annual General Meeting (AGM); or
• if FS Manager is used to prepare a full set of financial statements identical in content to the full set of financial statements tabled at the AGM.

Option B _Partial XBRL

A company filing its Annual Returns may prepare the financial statements using Option B. It must, however, attach a PDF copy of its full set of financial statements as tabled at the AGM. In the case of a private company which has dispensed with holding an AGM, this shall be a copy of its full set of financial statements sent to the shareholders of the company.

With Option B, a company must file a minimum of Statement of Financial Position, Statement of Comprehensive Income and information denoted by a red asterisk in FS Manager. If the company presents all items of income and expense in two statements, both the Statement of Comprehensive Income and Income Statement must also be filed.

A snapshot of XBRL filing requirements

Statements for Financial Periods Beginning On or After 1 January 2009	Option A Full XBRL	Option B Partial XBRL
Directors’ Report
Statement by Directors
Independent Auditors’ Report	*
Statement of Comprehensive Income (and Income Statement, if the company has presented all items of income and expense in two statements)
Statement of Financial Position
Statement of Changes in Equity
Statement of Cash Flows
All Notes to the Financial Statements
Mandatory information denoted by a red asterisk in FS Manager

* Applicable for companies not exempted from audit requirements.

Why outsource your XBRL fillings?

XBRL filing can be a time-consuming and daunting process for many companies. At Rikvin, our professional accounting team can assist you with the preparation of financial statements in the XBRL format proficiently and cost-effectively.

If you are interested in learning more about Rikvin’s affordable XBRL service, please email us at info@rikvin.com or give us a call at +65 64838887.

All registered companies in Singapore must submit a Form C annual tax return to IRAS.

Singapore corporate tax filing deadline

How it works

Rikvin offers a competitive Singapore corporate annual tax returns service that includes the preparation of the necessary documents and submission of the annual tax returns.

Our corporate annual tax return service includes but not limited to the following accounting functions:

• Corporate tax computation
• Preparation of tax forms for corporate submission
• Preparation of Director’s Report
• Preparation of Form C for submission

Our professional accounts managers will also guide you on the filing of audited or un-audited accounts as well as tax planning.

Related Topics

Compliance Matters with ACRA & IRAS
Singapore Corporate Tax

What is GST?

Goods and Service Tax (GST), similar to the Value Added Tax (VAT) in many countries, is a consumption tax on most domestic goods and services. Singapore’s GST is currently at 7%.

GST is exempted for the sale and lease of residential properties and most financial services. Export of goods and international services are not subject to GST. GST is collected by suppliers of domestic goods and services who are registered with the Comptroller of GST. For the import of goods, GST is collected by Singapore Customs at the point of  importation into Singapore.

A supplier of goods and/or services, whose annual revenue exceeds or is likely to exceed S$1 million, is required to register with the Comptroller of GST. A supplier, whose revenue does not exceed S$1 million may voluntarily register with the Comptroller if it is beneficial to the business. The approval of such registrations is at the discretion of the Comptroller. Once voluntarily registered, the supplier must comply with the regulatory requirements and stay registered for a minimum of 2 years.

How it works

Rikvin offers a GST service that helps ease the process of filing and complying with statutory requirements. Our accounts consultants can help you with the following:

I. GST Registration

We will register for GST on your behalf with Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) and follow up with all queries regarding the registration.

II. GST Filing

We offer an assessment that determines the impact of GST registration on your company and customers. Based on the assessment, we will advise you on the optimum GST filing cycle for your company. Rikvin offers monthly, quarterly and biannual GST filing.

Our service also includes providing advice on compliance matters as well as any incentives provided by the government for voluntary registration.

Related Topics

Singapore Goods and Services Tax (GST)
Singapore Taxation
Compliance Matters with ACRA & IRAS

One of the most important tasks for all businesses is the preparation of payroll and payment of salary. The process can be complicated further and more time-consuming with additional components such as benefits, allowances, deductions, government remittance, etc. It is of no surprise that consequently many SMEs choose to outsource their payroll function to accounting firms.

Rikvin has been providing our clients the Payroll Management Service since 1995. Our payroll specialists are well-trained and equipped with the most advanced payroll software system to process even the most complex payroll account.

Our service ensures that government remittances such as CPF are paid on time, tax filing requirements are adhered to, and the payroll information is kept confidential offsite.

How the Payroll Management Service works

When you engage Rikvin for the Payroll Management Service, you will be assigned an accounts manager who will work with you personally on your payroll needs.

Based on the information and required documents you submit to us, your personal accounts manager will review and organize the information submitted to create and maintain your payroll ledger. The accounts manager will also, per your advice, make salary payments and submit all necessary payroll taxes.

Our Payroll Management Service includes but not limited to the following accounting functions:

• Salary calculation on weekly, bi- weekly or monthly basis.
• Salary payment to employees by cheque issuance or through bank transfer such as GIRO.
• Central Provident Fund (CPF) registration and timely monthly payment.
• Issuing of IR8A Form for personal tax including statutory annual returns filing.