• Singapore is among the easiest countries to incorporate a business. It tops the World Bank's list of easiest countries to do business for seven consecutive years. Singapore company registration is a fast process that does not involve any red-tape.
• Singapore company incorporation is easy not just for the locals but also for the foreigners. The registration process is entirely online. It takes about 24 hours to process. However, foreigners cannot do Singapore company registration on their own. They must hire a registered filing agent from Singapore. Also because of additional requirement about the documents to be obtained, for foreigners the process may take longer time.
• ACRA is the government body that supervises the Singapore company incorporation process. ACRA stands for Accounting & Corporate Regulatory Authority. Both foreigners and locals must fulfil all the ACRA's requirements for successful Singapore company registration.

• Singapore broadly allows three different businesses entity types for business registration:
  • Sole Proprietorship / Partnership
  • Limited Liability Partnership
  • Private Limited Company
• The first important point to remember is foreigners cannot set-up Sole Proprietorship or partnership in Singapore. It is also difficult for them to set-up a Limited liability partnership. So practically the option left for them is to set-up a private limited company.

• Registering a private limited company comes with a large number of benefits.
• Income tax is charged at corporate tax rates (0% to 17%). A sole proprietorship or an LLC is taxed at personal tax rates (0% to 22%).
• A company is a different legal entity. A Shareholder's liability in a company is limited to the amount he or she invested in the company's shares. Foreigners can own 100% shares.

• Foreigners are mandated to hire a registered filing agent to assist them with Singapore company incorporation. Even local entrepreneurs and business owners are also recommended to engage a filing agent to ensure the fulfillment of all the compliance requirements.
• The requirements for Singapore company incorporation are:
  • a) Company Name
    An approved company name is mandatory for Singapore company registration. It must be reserved from ACRA
  • b) Share Capital
    The minimum paid-up capital required for Singapore company registration is S$1. Additional capital can be injected anytime to increase the share capital of a company. There is no maximum limit on Company share capital.
  • c) Directors
    A Singapore company can have both local and foreign directors. However, all Singapore-registered companies must have at least one director who is either a Singapore PR (permanent resident) or a Singapore citizen. Entrepreneur Pass & Employment Pass holders are also eligible to act as a local director. Singapore does not allow corporate directors.
  • d) Shareholders
    A Singapore company must have a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 50 shareholders. Corporate entities can also be shareholders in a Singapore private limited company. Singapore approves 100% foreign shareholding.
  • e) Company’s Registered Address
    All Singapore-incorporated companies must have a local registered address for the company's office in Singapore
  • f) Company Secretary
    A qualified company secretary must be appointed within the first six months of Singapore company registration. A secretary must be a Singapore-resident. The sole director of a company is not permitted to act as the company's secretary.

A nominee director service is provided by Corporate Secretarial Provider (Essentially Company like ours). As per ACRA regulations, at least one director of the company must be a Singapore-resident. It means he/she must be a Singapore citizen, PR, EntrePass, or Employment Pass holder. However, this can be a problem for a foreign promoter who may not have any person in Singapore to fulfill these requirements. In this case, a CSP company can make arrangements to provide you a person to act as a locally resident Director of the company. This is called as a Nominee Director Service. This arrangement is very common in foreigner promoted companies in Singapore. Every year thousands of companies are incorporated in Singapore with this arrangement.

a) Singapore company registration steps without visiting Singapore

Remote incorporation is ideal for those who want to run their business from overseas. There are steps that you must follow for a successful remote Singapore company incorporation.

• Engagement
  You connect with us via emails, telephone calls, or a video call. Give them details about your business model and clarify the doubts you have regarding remote registration. Ideally, it takes 2-3 days
• Video Conference
  We will have a video conference with every director and shareholder of the company for identity verification. This process takes one or two days.
• Incorporation
  Once above activities are done, we will proceed for company registration. Once your company is registered, incorporation documents are sent to you.
• Personal Details
  The next step involves providing your particulars. The documents required in this stage are passport copy, address proof copy, copy of a second ID, and KYC form. It also takes 2-3 days.
• Documents preparation and Signing
  After the video conference, we will prepare the necessary documents required for Singapore company registration. These documents will be electronically signed by using electronically signing software. This process does not usually take more than a day.
• Introduction to Bank
  After the successful incorporation of your company, the registration details will be sent to the bank representative for the bank account opening. The bank representative will take the process forward from this point on
  
  The entire procedure generally takes 7-10 days. The actual incorporation takes no more than a day. However, the time is consumed in document preparation, verification, and other necessary discussions.

b) Singapore company registration steps by visiting Singapore

Registration steps are not much different, even if you decide to visit Singapore for the registration. However, process tends to be faster.

• Engagement
  You connect with us via emails, telephone calls, or a video call. Give them details about your business model and clarify the doubts you have regarding remote registration. Ideally, it takes 2-3 days.
• Meet in the Office
  In this case, you visit Singapore for the rest of the steps. Instead of a video conference, we will verify your details at our office. Documents are also manually signed in the office. It will take a day.
• Meeting Bank Representative
  A meeting will be arranged with the bank representative for the opening of the company's bank account. It will take a day.
• Personal Details
  The next step involves providing your particulars. The documents required in this stage are passport copy, address proof copy, copy of a second ID, and KYC form. It also takes 2-3 days.
• Incorporation
  The registration procedure is online. Registration documents are handed over to you after the incorporation. It will take a day.
  
  It should be noted that a three-day visit is enough for company incorporation and other significant procedures. Plan your visit on any three working days and avoid weekends.

a) Compulsory Registration

Registering for GST becomes compulsory when

• the turnover of your business in the past 12 months is more than S$1 million– this is known as the retrospective basis OR
• you are making the sale, and you expect your business to S$1 million for the next 12 months – this is known as the prospective basis. This also includes any contracts or agreements that you might sign and expect the revenue to exceed S$1 million in the next 12 months.

Whenever your business revenue exceeds S$1 million, you are required to register for GST within 30 days. Not doing so within the given time will result in penalties from Singapore tax authorities. There is also an anti-avoidance mechanism in place to ensure that businesses are not manipulating their revenue to keep it under S$1 million, thereby avoid registration.

b) Voluntary Registration

• Even if you are not liable to compulsorily register, you may also voluntarily register for GST, keeping in view the business operations of your company. Your company should have plans to make sales or should have already started making sales in Singapore (on taxable supplies). You should remember that there are additional conditions if you choose to register voluntarily for GST.
• On voluntary registration, you are bound to remain registered for at least two years and comply with the GST regulations like maintain all your records for at least five years and filing the GST return on a quarterly basis even after you have deregistered from GST or ceased your business.

• Submissionof return GST F5 to the authorities quarterly, depending upon your accounting cycle.
• GST return includes the total value of your sales, purchases, and exports from GST registered entities, the GST collected, and the GST claimed for a specific accounting period.
• GST Returns are filed online.
• Once GST F5 is e-filed, next GST return will be made available online at the end of your accounting period.
• GST F5 can be file electronically up to one day after your accounting period ends.
• IRAS must receive your return within a period of one month after the end of your accounting period.
• If there is no tax due, even then, you are required to submit a Nil return.
• Regardless of the fact whether the net GST declared is a payable or refundable amount, IRAS will impose the late submission penalty if your GST return is not filed within the prescribed time.
• You will receive the GST refunds within thirty days from the date when you submitted your tax return.

Where We Can Help

• Company Incorporation services
• Arranging local nominee director
• Providing registered address for your company
• Assistance in obtaining employment pass
• Assistance in bank account opening
• Direct and Indirect Tax consultancy and compliances services
• Accounting & Bookkeeping Services