Ongoing Compliance Requirements for Singapore Registered Companies
Singapore Companies Act requires all Singapore incorporated companies to do the followings ongoing statutory compliance.
Financial Year End (FYE)
Every company must fix a Financial Year End. A company’s fiscal year is its financial year. The choice of the company’s FYE date is left for the company to decide. Most companies use either the end of the calendar year (December 31) or the end of a quarter (March 31, June 30, or September 30) as their fiscal year end date.
Appointment of Auditors
All Singapore incorporated companies must appoint an auditor within 3 months from the date of incorporation, unless it is exempted from audit requirements. To be exempted from audit requirements, a company must satisfy all of the following:
- The Company does not have any corporate shareholder;
- Total number of individual shareholders must be less than 20;
- Annual turnover of the company must be less than S$5 million.
Singapore Goods and Services Tax Registration
Goods and Services Tax or GST is a tax on the supply of goods and services in Singapore and on the import of goods into Singapore. The current rate is 7%. Taxable supplies cover both goods and services supplied in Singapore. Goods exported from Singapore and international services provided from Singapore are exempt from GST.
Every Singapore business must register for GST if their annual taxable revenue is more than S$1 million, or currently making taxable supplies and the annual taxable revenue is expected to be more than S$1 million. The business is expected to register for GST within thirty days from the time it is deemed liable.
You may also choose to register for GST voluntarily. Approval for voluntary registration is at the discretion of the Comptroller in IRAS. Once approval is given, you must remain registered for at least two years.
Custom Registration
Every Company having the business activities pertaining to Export and Import from Singapore need to apply for Customs Registration before you can the goods can be exported or imported.
Business Licenses
The Company should apply for and obtain the necessary approvals if the business activities are subjected to licenses requirements.
Accounting Records
All Singapore Companies must maintain accounting records and have to prepare profit and loss account and a balance sheet every Financial Year End. The accounting records must be kept for 5 years.
Notification of Changes
Every time a change occurs in the company or there are changes in the particulars of its officers, e.g. the passport number, nationality, residential address of the director/shareholder/s, change of financial year end, and change of registered office address, etc., this must be informed to ACRA within the prescribe time. Failure to do so will incur late filing penalties.
Company Registration Number Disclosure
The Singapore Companies Act requires every company to have its registration number (in addition to its registered name) on all business letters, statements of account, invoices, official notices and publications
Ongoing Annual Compliance:
Annual Filing requirements with Company Registrar (ACRA):
Annual General Meeting (AGM): Every Company must hold its AGM every calendar year and its financial statements are to be tabled at the AGM for the shareholders’ approval. An AGM can be:
- physically held anywhere in the world, whereby the shareholders meet, or
- by way of written resolutions, whereby a meeting is not required
Annual Returns: Every company must file an Annual Return (AR), which consists of pertinent information of the company and its financial accounts reports within one month of its Annual General Meeting (AGM).
Filing of Financial Statements in XBRL: Companies is required to file their financial statements in XBRL format during the filing of Annual return, if your company is insolvent (Total Assets – Total Liabilities = Negative Value) and has a corporate shareholder for the financial year.
Annual Filing requirements with Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS):
Estimated Chargeable Income (ECI): ECI is an estimate of a company’s chargeable income for a Year of Assessment (YA). IRAS requires each company to submit an ECI for the Year of Assessment within three months after the financial year ends. It is mandatory to file an ECI regardless of the amount of income. A company with a zero income will file a ‘NIL’ ECI.
Preparation of Financial Accounts: All Singapore Companies must maintain accounting records and have to prepare profit and loss account and a balance sheet every Financial Year End. The accounting records must be kept for 5 years.
Preparation of Financial Report – audited/unaudited: Every company is required to submit a Financial Report. The report consists of financial statements such as balance sheet and income statements; supporting notes and disclosure of significant accounting policies applied by the company; disclosure of company’s operations; and shareholders and directors’ interests
Unaudited Report: A company is not required to prepare an audited report if the sales turnover for the financial year does not exceed the $5 million; it has not more than 20 shareholders and does not have a corporate shareholder.
Audited Reports: A Company must audit its accounts, if the Company has a corporate shareholder and or the, sales turnover exceed S$5 million and has more than 20 shareholders
Tax Return Filing: The filing deadline for corporate income tax return is 31 November. Documents to be submitted are audited or unaudited Report and tax computation (Form C).
About Us
Rikvin Pte Ltd is a Singapore-based firm that provides professional incorporation, company registration, accounting, tax, and immigration services since 1998. With staff strength of more than 50 employees, Rikvin has designated departments which are lead by highly experienced professionals with extensive experience in Singapore’s corporate, tax and immigration regulatory frameworks.
