Corporate Services
Incorporation of local entities
Corporate secretarial services
Annual General Meeting (AGM)
Each Singapore company must hold an Annual General Meeting (AGM) once every calendar year. The following general rules apply to AGMs:
Filing of Annual Return with ACRA
Each Singapore company must lodge an Annual Return (AR) with ACRA within 1 month of its AGM. Particulars of the company officers, registered address, and auditors (if applicable) must be included in the AR.
Other lodgements
Each time a change occurs in the particulars of the company or to its officers, the change must be lodged with Registrar of Companies. Failure to do so will incur penalties.
Nominee director services
A Singapore company can have any number of local and foreign directors. However, the company must have at least one director who is “ordinarily resident in Singapore” i.e. Singapore Citizen, Singapore Permanent Resident, or a person who has been issued an Entrepreneur Pass or Employment Pass. Any person above the age of 18 years may be appointed as a director. However, certain individuals e.g. bankrupts, are disqualified from holding director positions. Should you require, we can provide you with a nominee director.
Named company secretary
As per Section 171 of the Singapore Companies Act, every company must appoint a qualified company secretary within 6 months of its incorporation. It has to be noted that in case of a sole director/shareholder, the same person cannot act as the company secretary. The company secretary must be a natural person who is ordinarily resident in Singapore.
Registered office address
Each Singapore company must have a registered office in Singapore which must be open and accessible to the public during normal office hours. We provide various centrally located addresses for your convenience.
Book keeping for companies and individuals
Each Singapore company must keep accounting and other records as are necessary to explain the transactions and financial position of the company and to prepare a profit and loss account and a balance sheet. The accounting records must be kept for 5 years after the completion of the transactions or operations to which they relate. Each director has the right to inspect accounting records of the company at any time with adequate notice.
We can prepare your accounts either monthly, quarterly, half yearly or annually, depending on your requirements.
Compilation of financial statements
If your company is a private limited company with
it qualifies as an Exempt Private Company (EPC) and need not do a Statutory Audit. However, the accounts of the company will need to be compiled according to Financial Reporting Standards (FRS). We can assist you in preparing the compiled financial accounts which should consist of Statement of Comprehensive Income (i.e. Profit and Loss Account), Statement of Financial Position (i.e. Balance Sheet), Cash Flow Statement, and Statement of Changes in Equity.
However, if your company does not satisfy the conditions for an EPC, the accounts of the company will need to be audited. We can assist you in arranging this if required.
Corporate Income tax
The following income tax filing obligations will apply to all companies (except dormant companies for which waiver to submit income tax return has been granted by IRAS)
All companies have to furnish an Estimated Chargeable Income (ECI) within three months after the end of its financial year end. It is an estimate of a company’s chargeable income for a Year of Assessment (YA). Even if the company estimates its chargeable income as zero, it still has to file a "Nil" ECI.
If a company submits it’s ECI within the qualifying period (i.e three months after the end of its financial year end), you can pay your tax in instalments. It is better for your company to submit the ECI earlier, as the earlier the ECI is submitted, the higher the number of payment installments given.
To encourage you to e-File, the number of instalments given to those who file ECI electronically is more than that given to those who file ECI using paper ECI Forms.
Income Tax Return (Form C)
All companies in Singapore are required to file in their tax returns to the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) annually by 30 November each year irrespective of their accounting year end.
The documents that need to be submitted are:
The Form C is a declaration form for a company to declare its income whereas tax computation is a statement showing the adjustments to the net profit/loss as per the accounts of a company to arrive at the amount of income that is chargeable to tax.
We can assist your company with preparing and submitting the above to IRAS.
*Disclaimer: The above information is generic and subject to change. For advise specific to your business, contact us.
- Selecting an appropriate business structure i.e private limited company, sole proprietorship, limited liability partnership etc
- Incorporating or registering with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority of Singapore (ACRA)
- Preparing Memorandum and Articles of Association (M & A)
- Obtaining common seal of the company
Corporate secretarial services
- We assist you in complying with the annual requirements of ACRA which include:
- Preparing Annual General Meeting (AGM) documents
- Preparing Annual Return (AR) filing
- Other lodgements with ACRA
Annual General Meeting (AGM)
Each Singapore company must hold an Annual General Meeting (AGM) once every calendar year. The following general rules apply to AGMs:
- The first AGM must be held within 18 months of its incorporation;
- No more than 15 months may elapse between subsequent AGMs;
- Accounts presented at the AGM shall be made up to a date not more than 6 months before the AGM;
Filing of Annual Return with ACRA
Each Singapore company must lodge an Annual Return (AR) with ACRA within 1 month of its AGM. Particulars of the company officers, registered address, and auditors (if applicable) must be included in the AR.
Other lodgements
Each time a change occurs in the particulars of the company or to its officers, the change must be lodged with Registrar of Companies. Failure to do so will incur penalties.
Nominee director services
A Singapore company can have any number of local and foreign directors. However, the company must have at least one director who is “ordinarily resident in Singapore” i.e. Singapore Citizen, Singapore Permanent Resident, or a person who has been issued an Entrepreneur Pass or Employment Pass. Any person above the age of 18 years may be appointed as a director. However, certain individuals e.g. bankrupts, are disqualified from holding director positions. Should you require, we can provide you with a nominee director.
Named company secretary
As per Section 171 of the Singapore Companies Act, every company must appoint a qualified company secretary within 6 months of its incorporation. It has to be noted that in case of a sole director/shareholder, the same person cannot act as the company secretary. The company secretary must be a natural person who is ordinarily resident in Singapore.
Registered office address
Each Singapore company must have a registered office in Singapore which must be open and accessible to the public during normal office hours. We provide various centrally located addresses for your convenience.
Book keeping for companies and individuals
Each Singapore company must keep accounting and other records as are necessary to explain the transactions and financial position of the company and to prepare a profit and loss account and a balance sheet. The accounting records must be kept for 5 years after the completion of the transactions or operations to which they relate. Each director has the right to inspect accounting records of the company at any time with adequate notice.
We can prepare your accounts either monthly, quarterly, half yearly or annually, depending on your requirements.
Compilation of financial statements
If your company is a private limited company with
- less than 20 shareholders
- no corporate shareholding (directly or indirectly)
- annual turnover of less than S$5million
it qualifies as an Exempt Private Company (EPC) and need not do a Statutory Audit. However, the accounts of the company will need to be compiled according to Financial Reporting Standards (FRS). We can assist you in preparing the compiled financial accounts which should consist of Statement of Comprehensive Income (i.e. Profit and Loss Account), Statement of Financial Position (i.e. Balance Sheet), Cash Flow Statement, and Statement of Changes in Equity.
However, if your company does not satisfy the conditions for an EPC, the accounts of the company will need to be audited. We can assist you in arranging this if required.
Corporate Income tax
The following income tax filing obligations will apply to all companies (except dormant companies for which waiver to submit income tax return has been granted by IRAS)
- Filing of the company’s Estimated Chargeable Income (ECI)
- Filing of the company’s Income Tax Return (Form C)
- Estimated Chargeable Income (ECI)
All companies have to furnish an Estimated Chargeable Income (ECI) within three months after the end of its financial year end. It is an estimate of a company’s chargeable income for a Year of Assessment (YA). Even if the company estimates its chargeable income as zero, it still has to file a "Nil" ECI.
If a company submits it’s ECI within the qualifying period (i.e three months after the end of its financial year end), you can pay your tax in instalments. It is better for your company to submit the ECI earlier, as the earlier the ECI is submitted, the higher the number of payment installments given.
To encourage you to e-File, the number of instalments given to those who file ECI electronically is more than that given to those who file ECI using paper ECI Forms.
Income Tax Return (Form C)
All companies in Singapore are required to file in their tax returns to the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) annually by 30 November each year irrespective of their accounting year end.
The documents that need to be submitted are:
- complete set of returns including Form C;
- audited/unaudited accounts; and
- tax computation.
The Form C is a declaration form for a company to declare its income whereas tax computation is a statement showing the adjustments to the net profit/loss as per the accounts of a company to arrive at the amount of income that is chargeable to tax.
We can assist your company with preparing and submitting the above to IRAS.
*Disclaimer: The above information is generic and subject to change. For advise specific to your business, contact us.
