Singapore Company Annual Filing Requirements
As a business owner, navigating the financial reporting requirements in Singapore can be overwhelming. Our guide covers everything you need to know, from the types of reporting to the preparation of financial statements, and from the annual general meeting to audit and financial reporting. You’ll also learn about income tax returns, when your company will need to pay income tax, goods and service tax (GST), and more. Get the information you need to stay on top of your company’s financial obligations.
This section covers Singapore company reporting requirements which are applicable to all private and public companies limited by shares, both active and inactive (dormant). Unless specifically mentioned, the information provided is related to all private limited companies.
Types of Reporting
There are two types of reporting: to the accounting regulatory authority (ACRA) and tax authority (IRAS).
Accounting reporting happens by filing Annual Return to ACRA, which may include the company’s financial statements or may not include, depending on the company type.
In order to report for income tax, every company must file Form C (or Form C-S or Form C-S Lite for smaller companies) once a year. Companies registered for Goods and Service Tax (GST) must file quarterly returns. Below we discuss these Singapore company filing requirements in greater details.
Preparation of Financial Statements
An essential part of Singapore company reporting requirements is the preparation of financials. Before any reporting can take place, every company must prepare its Director’s report which includes financial statements. For simplicity, this report is often called just Financial Statements (FS).
Financial statements cover each financial year period which is usually limited to 12 months. Such a period can start from the date of company incorporation Singapore and end on the last day of the 12th month. For example, if the company is registered on May 15, 2019, the first financial year will end on April 30, 2020. That is, slightly less than 12 months in order to align the end of the period with the end of the month. From the second year however, it will be exactly 12 months for each financial year; for example from 1st May 2020 till 30 April 2021.
Financial statements must be prepared in accordance with the Singapore Financial Reporting Standards (SFRS), which is essentially an adaptation of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). The financial statements should consist of a statement of comprehensive income (income statement), a statement of financial position (i.e. a balance sheet), a statement of cash flows and a statement of changes in equity.
Annual General Meeting
Once the financial statements are prepared, they must be approved by the directors at the Annual General Meeting (AGM). However, there is no need to physically meet if all directors agree to approve the statements without holding AGM. In this case, the resolution to dispense with AGM and approve FS will be passed. Alternatively, AGM can be held over videolink, which is allowed by Singapore regulatory reporting requirements.
At AGM, there can be other procedural things decided. For example, company directors are usually re-elected at AGM, in the normal course of business.
Important timelines to remember:
- A company must approve its financial statements and hold AGM (or dispense with it) within 6 months from the end of the financial year;
- Annual Return must be filed within one month after approval of FS / holding AGM. The cost of normal filing is $60.
That is, an annual return must be filed within 7 months after the end of the financial year. What happens if you are late? At first, there will be a late filing fee of 300 dollars. Subsequently, there could be more serious penalties.
Annual Return
An annual return must be filed by every Singaporean company, whether or not it files its own financial statements. In essence, Annual Return (AR) is a notification by the company to the authority that the company is in working order and has held its AGM or confirmed its status without holding it (subject to the consent of directors).
A one-time extension of filing AR for 2 months is allowed without penalty. To do this, the company must submit an online application to ACRA. This must be done before the expiration of 6 months from the date of the end of the financial year.
In order to file your annual return on time, we recommend keeping accounting records in order for fast generation of FS when they are due. However, if the number of transactions in your company is relatively low, you may compile your statements quarterly or yearly.
Income Tax Return
Singapore uses the tax base of the previous year, i.e. the taxable profit for the financial year ending in the previous year serves as the basis for filing a tax return in the current year. In other words, you always file your taxes in the next year after your accounts are done.
Every Singapore company must file its annual income tax return with IRAS by December 15th, if they file electronically. For paper filings, the deadline is 15th November.
ECI
However, there is also a requirement to file Estimated Chargeable Income (ECI) within 3 months after the end of the accounting period. Because it is estimated, the figures can change at the time of filing the Form C, as some entries can be adjusted at a later time. Your company won’t have to file ECI if the revenue is lower than 5 million Singapore dollars or if the estimated taxable income is zero.
However, there is also a requirement to file Estimated Chargeable Income (ECI) within 3 months after the end of the accounting period. Because it is estimated, the figures can change at the time of filing the Form C, as some entries can be adjusted at a later time. Your company won’t have to file ECI if the revenue is lower than 5 million Singapore dollars or if the estimated taxable income is zero.
Dormant Companies
Dormant companies registered in Singapore are still expected to file their tax return (Form C-S/ Form C-S (Lite)/ Form C) every year. Alternatively, they may apply for a waiver.
IRAS provides conditions that must be met in order to qualify for the waiver and you can read them on their website https://www.iras.gov.sg/taxes/corporate-income-tax/dormant-companies-or-companies-closing-down/dormant-companies.
When Will Your Company Pay Income Tax?
Within approximately one month after filing, the tax office will issue a “Notice of Tax Assessment”, which affirms the amount of income tax due. If there are no reasons to dispute the amount, it will be the same as was indicated in its tax return. If there is no tax payable, the tax office will send a notification with a zero amount.
The notification contains the deadline by which the tax must be paid – usually 2-3 weeks are given for this. If the tax due is not paid on time, a second notice will be sent to the company with an accrued penalty of 5% of the amount of tax payable.
At the same time, if the company maintains a bank in Singapore, it can choose to pay tax monthly throughout the year – the amount remains the same, without any additional interest, simply divided into 12 equal parts.
Please note that directors of Singapore companies are personally responsible for meeting the annual filing requirements. Failure to comply with statutory requirements and deadlines is a violation and may result in fines or prosecution
Goods and Service Tax (GST)
If your company makes sales within Singapore and its revenue has reached $1 million, it will have to be registered for GST. In this case, there will be a requirement to file quarterly GST reports, in accordance with Singapore reporting standards. The difference from the tax collected and the tax paid to suppliers of goods and services for the same reporting period will be reflected in the report and paid or refunded accordingly.
Audit and Financial Reporting
Singapore regulations have developed a “small company” concept, according to which the company will be exempted from the audit requirements.
Under the Singapore Companies Act, if a company meets at least one of the three requirements below, it is considered a small company and is not required to be audited:
- The total annual income does not exceed 10 million Singapore dollars;
- The total amount of assets does not exceed 10 million Singapore dollars; or
- Has no more than 50 employees
Thus, even if a Singapore company has a turnover of more than SGD 10 million (which is about 7 million US dollars), but the number of assets is less than 10 million or the number of employees is less than 50 people, it still considers it a small company and is not subject to audit. These rules especially benefit small businesses as they remove an additional burden of the yearly audit process. It can be costly and consumes a lot of time and company resources.
Conclusion
Overall, Singapore company filing requirements are pretty simple and straightforward. There are only a few deadlines to observe and there is plenty of time given by regulations to prepare the numbers. However, if you do not have your own accounting team, it is usually advisable to outsource filings and reporting matters of the company to the specialists. If you want to outsource the preparation of accounting documentation and filings to us, we will gladly provide all the necessary work, including monitoring your company timelines.
