Singapore Company Registrar Explained

By Author: zbenriquez
Total Articles: 10
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The Singapore Company Registrar, also called as the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA), is the government agency that oversees the businesses in the country and ensures that they adhere to the laws and regulations.

It is important to note that the requirements and compliance matters required to business owners largely depend on the structure they have adopted for their business.

Meanwhile, these are the basic types of business structures, according to the Singapore Company Registrar:

Sole proprietorship

Considered as the simplest and easiest to manage business setup, the sole proprietorship is usually ideal to micro- and small-sized enterprises.

One basic characteristic of sole proprietorship is that it is owned by one person who is personally liable for all the financial losses, duties, debts, and other liabilities of his business which is not considered as a legal entity.

The income of a sole proprietor is subjected to the personal income tax rate which means that it is not a requirement to submit his annual returns. In addition, he is also subjected to less formalities ...
... and compliance matters.

Partnership

This business setup is allowed to have two or up to a maximum of 20 partners. If the number of partners is more than this limit, they are required to register their business as a company.
Just like a sole proprietor, partners are personally liable for the financial losses and debts of their business. However, it is easier to raise funds and manage a business in partnership.

Singapore company (or more commonly referred as corporation in most countries like the US)

Most professionals believe that the company is the most ideal setup due to its perpetual succession since its existence does not depend on the shareholders and directors. In fact, it stands as a legal business entity separate from its shareholders and board of directors.

Under the Singapore Companies Act, a company can be owned by one to 50 shareholders who may be an individual or corporate entity. However, a significant number of registered companies today have less than 20 shareholders who are all natural persons and not corporate entities in order to qualify for the Zero Tax and 50 percent tax break on their first S$100,000 and S$200,000 chargeable incomes, respectively, within three years of their incorporation.

Aside from the tax exemptions, a Singapore company also enjoys a single-tier tax system in which the taxes are only deducted from the corporate level and do not include the shareholder's dividends.
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