What is ACRA BizFile in Singapore and Why You Need It

This is also done to make information accessible to public agencies upon request. The idea is to introduce transparency in the ownership and control of business entities. The new law will require all businesses that provide corporate services to register with ACRA, even if they do not transact with the authority. This includes companies that provide corporate services exclusively to overseas clients.

The Bizfile+ system has more mobile-friendly features, making it seamless for users to access the portal on the go. 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 the submission of statutory documents and retrieval of information about business entities registered with ACRA. A unique entity number (UEN) is an identification number that is automatically generated when a company has successfully registered with ACRA. All companies need to include their company name and UEN in business letters, statements of account, invoices, official notices and other correspondences. Given Singapore’s drive to nurture a climate that is attractive, useful, and comprehensive for all businesses, companies should view the ongoing compliance requirements as beneficial to their companies and their how to calculate contribution per unit business operations.

You can find out more information about the role and responsibilities of a local nominee director. For example, when submitting an application for a name reservation, a company is required to also input to new company’s desired principal activities. The principal activities accepted by ACRA are set out in the Singapore Standard Industrial Classification (“SSIC”). Prior to 2003, all applications and submissions, such as an application to incorporate a company, had to be done manually by queuing up at ACRA’s service centre. The company is required to submit the annual returns through BizFile within 30 days after AGM to avoid penalties.

Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority

Upon approval of your application, the SingPass will be sent to your local address within 3  four working days. One crucial point to note is that in order to make any applications or submissions via Bizfile, you must have a SingPass. A SingPass is an electronic identity that is given to Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents. To start with ACRA registration, you may need to check if your company or business name is already registered using our ACRA search tool. ✅ Experience – With 15 years of unrivalled service, we understand the intricacies of business operations better than anyone else. For example, some licenses required to start a food beverage business in Singapore will have you submitting your BizFile.

Does a dormant company need to file an annual return with ACRA?

1. Basically, almost all submissions and applications required under the Companies’ Act can be submitted via Bizfile.
2. If a company enters the wrong SSIC code for its name reservation, this could potentially impact the approval of the name reservation application.
3. It could also raise the cost of doing business for companies that need to source for more people to fulfil the requirement.
4. Before the launch of ACRA BizFile, these processes would take days to complete.
5. All appointed officers must endorse their appointments in BizFile+ within 60 days from the date of the email.

An ordinarily resident director is a director who is above 18 years of age and is ordinarily resident in Singapore. For foreign entrepreneurs or foreign corporations who may not have existing contacts in Singapore, it is the norm for them to rely on the nominee director services of a professional corporate services provider. In Parliament on Tuesday (Jul 2), MP Lim Biow Chuan said he supported, in principle, the need to tighten regulations on all corporate service providers (CSPs) to strengthen Singapore’s efforts to combat money laundering. However, he said many existing registered filing agents (RFAs), which will in future be classified as CSPs, typically do not deal with huge flows of funds into companies – unlike banks, financial institutions or remittance companies. He questioned whether imposing onerous requirements on them to carry out stringent customer due diligence is “overkill”. Mr Lim also asked if clear guidelines will be issued for CSPs to assess who is considered a “fit and proper” person to be a nominee director.

How do I check if a company name is available in ACRA?

Ms Indranee noted that corporate service providers play an important role in anti-money laundering. “However, such arrangements are vulnerable to abuse and can lead to the conduct of illicit activities if the nominee directors do not perform their fiduciary duties well,” said Ms Indranee. However, it is necessary for foreigners to engage a corporate service provider to access Bizfile+ to complete any transactions.

It is a highly secure, flexible, and cost-efficient system to maintain company information. Statistics reveal that over 1 million transactions trade and nontrade receivables current or non current take place annually on BizFile+. Likewise, choosing other principal activities such as investment holding, would result in the company being unable to enjoy the attractive tax exemption rates granted by the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (“IRAS”).

“This was because prescribing the number of nominee directorships that an individual can hold could be a blunt tool that is unnecessarily restrictive. This requirement will also extend to accounting businesses that carry out specific services defined by the Financial Action Task Force – a global money laundering and terrorism financing watchdog. On The Go iPhone app has brought all the critical information on your fingertips.

In addition, ACRA oversees and reviews applications for name reservations and incorporation, which are submitted via Bizfile. However, a certain level of familiarity and understanding of how to make the said submissions is important before doing so. Here is a list of essential activities you or your company secretary can perform using the BizFile platform. It also makes it an offence for persons to provide false or misleading information about their registers to ACRA, and requires companies and LLPs to verify and update their controllers’ information annually.

If the criteria is not clear and easy to comply with and foreigners have to wait “months” to start a business or open a bank account here, Singapore could risk losing its competitive edge as a business-friendly country, said Mr Lim. The Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) is a statutory board under the Ministry of Finance of the Government of Singapore. ACRA is the regulator of business registration, financial reporting, public accountants and corporate service providers. ACRA is also responsible for developing the accountancy sector and setting the accounting standards for companies, charities co-operative societies, and societies in Singapore. ACRA fosters a vibrant and trusted business environment that enables innovation and growth and contributes towards making Singapore public accounting vs private accounting the best place for business.