Take a look at the following compliance requirements that apply to the companies incorporated in Singapore. It will help you avoid legal, tax and other problems.
- Once your new company has been incorporated in Singapore, you have to appoint a qualified Company Secretary. The person appointed to this post must be a local resident. Appoint someone who is a Singapore citizen, permanent residency permit holder, EntrePass holder or employment pass holder. This appointment must be done within six months of incorporating a new company.
- Your company must have a local and physical office in Singapore. This main office of your company in Singapore should be open during the office hours. It must also be accessible to the public during the working hours.
- The directors you appoint for your company must meet the criteria set for the directors by the Singapore government. First of all, you have to appoint at least one resident director. Only a person 18 years or over can be appointed to this post. There should be no malpractice charge or bankruptcy proceeding against this person. The same criteria, qualification and requirements apply to other directors appointed to the company. You can appoint non-resident directors.
- An auditor must be appointed within three months of your company’s incorporation date. At the same time, this requirement does not apply to certain Singapore business entities. Your company can avoid appointing an auditor if you meet any two of the following conditions in the last two financial year ends:
- Your total annual revenue does not exceed S$10 million.
- Your total assets do not exceed S$10 million.
- Your employee count does not exceed 50.
- Your company must be registered for GST (Goods and Services Tax) if its actual or projected annual revenue is more than S$1 million. GST is referred as Sales Tax or VAT (Value Added Tax) in other countries. Your Singapore company must collect the GST tax from the customers and clients when they purchase products and services from it. The GST tax is currently set at 7%. The tax collected by your company must be deposited with the tax authorities on time. Take help of accountants and other professionals to comply with the Singapore GST laws. Read the GST guide to know how this tax is applied to the products and services.
- When you incorporate your business entity with the Registrar in Singapore, it does not mean now you are ready to start business operations in Singapore. Before you can initiate any business activity, you must obtain the business licenses applicable to your business. A business may need more than one license. It depends on the type of business activities you will be doing in Singapore. Business licenses are needed to operate businesses like a travel agency, import/export firm, restaurant, educational institute, financial service provider and some others. Take help of business licensing guides or consult a local business consultant to know which licenses apply to your business.
- You have to maintain your Singapore company’s Register of Controllers in digital or paper format. It must be physically available in Singapore. The term “Controllers” refers to people who have significant interest in the company or control 25% or more of its capital, shares, profits and/or voting power.
- A foreign company incorporated in Singapore must maintain a public register that has particulars of all its members. If there are shareholders in your company, then their particulars should also be maintained in this register. These records are in addition to the Register of Controllers. You can find more information about it on the FAQ page of ACRA (Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority), Singapore.
- You have to maintain the necessary accounting records. It should have records of main transactions. Your Singapore company’s financial position should be clear from this data. These records must be maintained for a minimum of five years after the relevant transactions take place.
- If your company’s directors have any material personal interest in the company affairs, then full information about it must be disclosed. All other information related to their real or perceived conflict of interest must be disclosed.
- Whenever changes are made in the company’s particulars, the new data should be submitted to ACRA within the stipulated time limit. Companies that fail to update this data in time face penalties.
- Your company’s all official correspondence must have the unique entity number which is the company’s registration number.
- The annual returns of your company must be filed with ACRA. The annual tax returns of your company must be submitted to the IRAS (Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore). Check annual filing guideline for Singapore companies to learn more about these requirements.
