May 1, 2024

It is a crime in Singapore to not send in your company’s Annual Returns. If you don’t, your company could be declared bankrupt. There are people in Singapore who can remove a company from the register of businesses and organizations if there are good reasons to believe it is no longer in business. When a company doesn’t file annual returns (ARs) for two years in a row, this is fine.

An annual report is due 30 days after a company’s annual general meeting, except for organizations that aren’t required to file an annual report (AGM). If you don’t, ACRA might do something. For the Limited Liability Company (LLC) it works fine.

ARs are required by law and must be filed each year

ACRA’s online filing system, BizFile+, can be used to send in the AR form electronically. It includes the names of the company’s directors, shareholders, and the company’s most recent financial statements.

In order to help people who work for the company make smart decisions, the ACRA recommends that all businesses file annual reports (ARs). AR must be filed 30 days after the AGM. However, a company with a Singapore office and share capital has 60 days to follow the rules.

A company that doesn’t send in an AR has consequences

  • When a company doesn’t file its AR, ACRA takes action. When things start, the board takes a low-key approach. Then, over time, it starts to get more and more serious about it.
  • A fine of S$300 was first levied on the company because it didn’t pay on time. An order may be made against a director of a company who doesn’t follow the rules.
  • Companies may also be asked to pay a fine instead of going to court as an alternative to being prosecuted by the government. To get in trouble for not filing your AR on time, you must pay at least S$500.

Afterwards, ACRA has the right not to give composition. They also have the option of taking legal action against all or just one of the directors of the corporation. To strike off the company  there are the options you can go for.

The order in which you are disqualified from taking part

When a director or company secretary breaks an important part of the Companies Act, a process called debarment was put in place in 2016. In this category, if you don’t file required documents for three months or more, you’re in this group. In the case of someone who has been kicked out of a company, they won’t be able to accept any new job offers from other places.

Director who has had at least three of his businesses taken off by ACRA in the last five years will not be able to work in a similar way. For the next five years, the person won’t be able to help run another company.In a court of law, someone is charged with a crime.

Charges may be brought against a company or its directors by ACRA if:

Anyhow, ACRA doesn’t give a reason for the violations. An ACRA agent will deliver the summons to the company’s registered address or the home of the director. The summons will be sent by mail. When the summons is sent, it will tell you when and where the director or a representative of the company must show up in court. Some people might get fined up to S$5,000 for making false claims.

Complaint: making a complaint to ACRA

Directors of corporations can ask ACRA to look at summons, cut composition amounts, and avoid late-filing penalties. Recommendations from the Registrar take a long time to think about, and most people don’t agree with them. As with more simple charges, it could take up to eight weeks for a response.A compliance manager might help a person who has been called in. In order to represent ACRA, the person in charge of compliance must fill out a form called “Representation Form.”