Upon successful payment, an email on the guide for product download will be sent to you within 15 minutes. Alternatively, if the purchase is done via Singpass, you can login at ACRA BizFile+ portal, click on Messages to access the above same email message. Download for purchased product will expire 7 days from date of purchase, no further extension can be made. If you are planning to incorporate your company in Singapore, you likely will have questions about ACRA.
- “It’s quite a common service provided, so it is not unusual for an employee of such a corporate service provider to be director of perhaps multiple companies,” he added.
- On 1 April 2023, ACRA, the Singapore Accountancy Commission (SAC) and the Accounting Standards Council (ASC) merged as one entity, taking on the name, ACRA.
- Explore our incorporation services or contact our team to get personalised advice today.
- Most of the information lodged with ACRA via BizFile+, ACRA’s on-line registry system, can be accessed by the public upon payment of a fee.
All Singapore companies must follow certain legal obligations every year regardless of their size or business structure and prepare the correct Annual General Meeting documents for submission to ACRA. Annual filings are mandatory for both active and dormant Singapore companies despite whichever type of entities that you have in Singapore. It is advisable to ensure all required information and supporting documents are submitted accurately to minimize processing time. If there are any urgent updates or concerns, businesses can contact ACRA directly for assistance.
Who needs to register with ACRA?
Unless you are well-versed with Singapore company law, you should engage a registration filing agent to register and manage the ongoing compliance for your company. Singapore company law requires that all foreigners register their company through a professional corporate services firm. The appointed officers of the company may file the Annual Returns online via BizFile+. With BizFile+, it allows the public to access more than 400 services online and doing business in Singapore has become much easier and convenient.
- This includes putting in place processes and procedures to prevent disclosure of data under circumstances other than those allowed under the ACRA Act.
- Singapore Registrar of Companies (ROC) and ACRA are used interchangeably for the same entity.
- Whether you have a business or plan to incorporate your first company, you must understand that companies worldwide are subject to regulations.
- ACRA stands for Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority of Singapore.
- Before ACRA filing the Annual Return, as part of the annual obligations, companies and directors are required to prepare and present an updated financial statement during Annual General Meeting.
A Registered Acra Filing Agent not only helps you to file the Annual Return, but they should also be the appointed officer, corporate secretary. Accordingly to our corporate secretary specialist, Annual Return comes in 4 parts. Standard solutions, like checking company name or filing for company formation take less than an hour. Foreigners can’t apply on their own, so they need to employ a certified agency to represent them. If you fail to notify ACRA of a change in time, your company will be assessed a late lodgement fee ranging from S$50-S$350. Failure to notify ACRA can also result in a fine of up to S$5,000 and a default penalty for the company and every company director.
Singapore Company Annual Filing Requirements
ACRA is committed to promoting environmental sustainability and recognises that the way we deliver our service and perform our regulatory role has an impact on the environment. ACRA will continue to keep abreast of industry standards and strive to implement best practices where applicable, with respect to the way we manage personal data. The ACRA Act provides for ACRA to disclose personal data in discharging its functions. Nevertheless, ACRA adheres to the Public Sector (Governance) Act and Government Instruction Manuals with respect to the way data is managed.
Any failure to notify ACRA within the stipulated time will be a breach of the Companies Act and may pose a risk of penalty. If your company cannot hold an AGM within the 30 days after being granted an EOT, you can apply for a second EOT. If you currently run a business in Singapore or are thinking of setting one up, you’ll find that you come into contact with ACRA regularly. This makes for a safer environment for both businesses and customers in Singapore.
ACRA and IRAS Timeline
BizFile was introduced in 2004 as a corporate information storage portal to upload, store, and retrieve business data for companies in Singapore. BizFile was renamed BizFile+ in 2016, following a major update in the system to improve the speed and efficiency of the portal. Every company conducting business in Singapore needs to register with ACRA. They will have to choose their business structure and take the necessary steps to register their business with ACRA. The Business Profile is a PDF extract from ACRA containing your company’s information such as UEN, date of incorporation, principal activities, shareholder’s details and paid-up capital.
When is the deadline for ACRA Filing?
Before ACRA filing the Annual Return, as part of the annual obligations, companies and directors are required to prepare and present an updated financial statement during Annual General Meeting. The processing time for updates on BizFile+ may vary depending on the nature of the update and other factors. In general, straightforward updates, such as changes to company addresses or contact details, can be processed within one to three business days. However, more complex updates or those requiring additional documentation may take longer.
After setting up a company in Singapore, you will need to prepare ACRA filing and IRAS after every financial period irrespective of the type of entities that you have set up. Please refer to the compliant requirement for a Private Limited Company in Singapore. BizFile is ACRA’s online filing and information retrieval system, which provides a convenient platform for businesses to interact with ACRA. It offers a range of services that streamline administrative processes and enhance efficiency.
Companies that require to be audited will have to attach audited financial statements as part of their Annual Return submission. In some circumstances, an XBRL report during the submission of ACRA Filing as per mentioned earlier. Therefore, it is important to understand the compliance requirements and come up with a plan to stay on top of them. After ACRA filing, the same set of financial statement would be ready for IRAS filing. It is also tasked with regulating public accountants who are performing statutory audits.
We recognise that environmental sustainability is both an opportunity and a risk, and businesses can demonstrate their impact on sustainability through corporate reporting. Similarly, Prof Loh recommended introducing measures to educate corporate service providers on best practices for due diligence. But he called for these initiatives to be done progressively to avoid putting too much pressure on the industry.
Note that certain companies can file annual returns without holding an AGM. To see if your company meets the criteria, please see our guide on filing inventory audits annual returns in Singapore. However, the latest changes have also made certain ad-hoc transactions for free, which earlier required payment.
Therefore, a good corporate service provider is needed to help you to keep ACRA updated so you do not have anything to worry about. The ACRA registration number is a unique alphanumeric code that serves as an identification number for a registered business entity in Singapore. When a company or business is incorporated or registered with ACRA, it is assigned a specific ACRA registration number.
