If you are looking into starting a business in Singapore, you have come to the right place.
Guide to setting up a business in Singapore
Decide on which type of business entity you would like to incorporate.
- Sole proprietorship
- Partnership
- Limited liability partnership
- Private limited company (most common)
Features of a Private Limited Company (Most common structure)
- An independent legal entity separate from its owners – it can sue and be sued in its own name
- Company shareholders’ have limited liability to the company
- It can own property
- A minimum of one and a maximum of 50 shareholders
- The company is considered a tax resident and is eligible for local tax exemptions
Minimum Setup Requirements to Register a Pte. Ltd. Company
- One Shareholder (an individual or corporate entity)
- One Resident Director (Singaporean or Singapore Permanent Resident)
- One Company Secretary
- Paid-up share capital of at least S$1
- A physical Singapore registered office address
1) Gather your investors
The company should have a minimum of one shareholder (Individual or Corporate).
2) Appoint your directors in the company
A director would have to be held by a person above the age of 18.
One director would have to be a Singaporean or Singapore PR.
A Pass holder could also become a director, subject to the Ministry of Manpower’s regulations.
3) Register your company with ACRA
Once all of the information is ready, you are ready to register your company with ACRA.
4) Appoint a company secretary
Within 6 months of incorporation, your company is required to appoint a company secretary who is residing in Singapore,
5) Appoint an auditor
This has to be done within 3 months of incorporation unless your company meets the requirements for exemption from statutory audit.
In accordance with the Singapore Companies Act, you are required to appoint a company secretary within six months of incorporating your company in Singapore. A chartered secretary acts as an officer of your firm, and will help fulfil a range of duties that ensures your company complies with the regulations stipulated by ACRA.
Our core secretarial services include but are not limited to:
- Provision of Nominee Director services
- Provision of Named Company Secretary
- Incorporation of private limited companies in accordance with the Singapore Companies Act
- Provide secure and proper maintenance of statutory registers, minute books and company records
- Deliver effective and timely reporting to relevant statutory authorities and regulatory bodies of any alterations or corporate structures changes to your company
- Prepare board and shareholders’ resolutions
- Advise, preparation and lodgement of Annual Returns and other requisite filings with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority of Singapore (ACRA)
- Other corporate secretarial services in Singapore
COMPANY CESSATION
We are able to offer advice and assistance with the striking-off of local companies.
It is every company’s responsibility to maintain proper bookkeeping and accounting records in Singapore in accordance with Singapore Financial Reporting Standards (SFRS).
Our accountancy and bookkeeping services include the following :
- Set-up chart of accounts
- Accounting entries, compilation of general ledger reports, trial balances, profit and loss statements, balance sheets schedules for management reporting.
- Assistance in the statutory reporting process, including liaison with auditors
Compilation of unaudited financial statements
– Preparation of year-end management accounts, including statements of comprehensive income, statements of financial position and all supporting notes to financial statements
XBRL Financial Statements
- Preparation of financial statements in XBRL format for ACRA filling
- XBRL Conversion of Financial Statements
Local Payroll Management Services
Outsource your payroll services. Services include :
Computation of gross to net salary and central provident funds (CPF)
- Provision of payroll details, reports and payroll journals
- Disbursement of net salary and CPF via bank accounts and issuing confidential pay slips (electronic)
- Submission of monthly CPF details to CPF Board
- Preparation of year-end IR8A forms (electronic)
Central Provident Funds
The Central Provident Fund (“CPF”) is a compulsory pension fund scheme. The employer and employee will contribute a percentage of their monthly salary to the fund. This is mandatory for all employers who have employees who are Singapore Citizens or Singapore Permanent Residents earning more than S$50 a month.
Skill Development Fund
All employers must contribute to the Skill Development Fund for their employees.
The CPF Board collects the skill development levy on behalf of the Singapore Workforce Development Agency. Ultimately, the levy is channelled into the SDF, which provides grants to companies that send their workers for training.
Employers have to contribute the levy for all employees up to the first S$4,500 of gross monthly remuneration at a levy rate of 0.25%, subject to a minimum of S$2, whichever is higher.
Employees include full-time, casual, part-time, temporary and foreign workers rendering services wholly or partly in Singapore.
We can help manage all your corporate tax filing, compliance and regulation matters in Singapore. Our services include
Corporate tax
- Preparation, review and submission of finalised tax returns
- Submission of the finalised tax return and computation to clients for signatures and agreement prior to filing
- Filing of Form C and Form C-S for company income tax returns with Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS).
GST Compliance
Our work is useful for keeping companies compliant with Singapore GST regulation compliance, laws and tax filing services. Our GST services include:
- GST advice on start-up issues
- GST registration and return filing
- Pre-registration GST input tax claims
- Application for GST registration
- Review and preparation of GST returns
- Handling of IRAS queries
- Filing of F7 error correction forms
- GST advice on the implication of de-registration of GST
- Filing of GST Forms 8 (final return) and 9 (de-registration)
General Information
Accounting and Tax Requirements
Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) requires companies to submit certain documents on an annual basis, which are set out below:
Estimated Chargeable Income (ECI)
An estimate of the company’s chargeable income for the Year of Assessment (YA). This should be submitted within 3 months after the financial year end.
Financial Statements
Comprising Profit and Loss Account, Balance Sheet, Cash Flow Statement and Equity Statement and Notes to the Financial Statements.
Tax Returns
Audited or unaudited financial statement accompanied by a tax computation form (known as the Form C or Form C-S) should be submitted by 30 November in the following year following the financial year end of the company.
Goods and Services Tax (GST) Information
Known as VAT in some other countries, GST is the tax on the supply of goods and services in Singapore and also applies to the importation of goods into Singapore.
As a business, you must register for GST when :
- Annual taxable revenue exceeds S$1 million;
- Company manufactures taxable supplies and its annual taxable revenue is expected to exceed S$1 million.
If your business taxable turnover does not exceed $1 million, you may still choose to voluntarily register for GST.
Responsibilities of a GST-registered Business
1. Charge & account for GST on standard-rated supplies
For supplies of goods and services made in Singapore, you need to charge and account for GST.
2. File GST returns & pay tax due
All GST returns must be submitted within one month from the end of each accounting quarter.
If there is no transaction, a “NIL” GST return must still be filed.
3. Keep proper business & accounting records
You must keep all business and accounting records for at least 5 years.
4. Display prices with GST
Any price displays, advertisements, publications or quotations in respect of goods or services made to the public must be inclusive of GST.
If both GST-inclusive and GST-exclusive prices are displayed, the GST-inclusive price must be displayed at least as prominently as the GST-exclusive price.
5. Issue tax invoices with GST registration number
You are required to issue tax invoices/customer accounting tax invoices for your standard-rated supplies.
If the total amount payable for your supply (including GST) does not exceed S$1,000, you may issue a simplified tax invoice.
Your GST Registration Number should be reflected on all your tax invoices, simplified tax invoices and receipts.
All companies are required to have their financial statements audited unless they meet the ACRA audit exemption criteria.
New audit exemption criteria for small private companies wef 1 July 2015
A company qualifies as a small company if:
(a) it is a private company in the financial year in question; and
(b) it meets at least 2 of 3 following criteria for immediate past two financial years:
– total annual revenue ≤ $10m;
– total assets ≤ $10m;
– no. of employees ≤ 50
For a company which is part of a group:
(a) the company must qualify as a small company; and
(b) entire group must be a “small group” to qualify to the audit exemption.
For a group to be a small group, it must meet at least 2 of the 3 quantitative criteria on a consolidated basis for the immediate past two consecutive financial years.
Where a company has qualified as a small company, it continues to be a small company for subsequent financial years until it is disqualified. A small company is disqualified if:
(a) it ceases to be a private company at any time during a financial year; or
(b) it does not meet at least 2 of the 3 the quantitative criteria for the immediate past two consecutive financial years.
Where a group has qualified as a small group, it continues to be a small group for subsequent financial years until it does not meet at least 2 of the 3 the quantitative criteria for the immediate past two consecutive financial years.