You may refer to our other article for more examples of such government grants for start-ups. If the business unfortunately has to close down, there are some requirements on closing a business that may be applicable. Carrying on a business after its registration has lapsed is an offence, for which the defaulter will be liable upon conviction to a fine of up to $10,000 adjusting entry for bad debts expense or a term of imprisonment of up to 2 years or both. This is unless you have incorporated a company, as company registrations do not expire. In other cases, the regulatory authority may only get involved in approving your registration after it has been submitted to ACRA.
Singapore Corporate Tax System
It is also worth noting that start-ups in Singapore have access to a wide array of government grants. For instance, the Enterprise Development Grant covers up to 50% of costs for projects relating to a business’ core capabilities, innovation and productivity, and market access. On the financing aspect of things, companies can also utilise the Enterprise Financing Scheme to secure loan facilities at significantly favourable terms. The purchase of equipment, rental costs, start-up costs, and production costs all translate into financial costs which must be met for a business to operate smoothly. If you require assistance in registering your business, do check out our rates or get in touch.
- Following which, the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) will update its records based on the information filed with ACRA.
- However, if your business name includes descriptive words before or after your name, such as “Home-Baked Cakes by Lim Ah Kao”, you must register your business.
- It is like laying the foundations for your house – or perhaps more like designing the floor plan.
- The permits required for the foreign workers you intend to hire are dependent on the skill level of your workers.
- Failure to register your business may result in a fine of up to $10,000, or even imprisonment of up to 2 years, or both.
- However, the business name remains registered until the registration is cancelled.
Just like a house structure, different business structures will suit you depending on your business plan and business model. You may wish to contact a Banking and Finance lawyer for professional advice and help on such matters. Even for non-startups, a wide array of financial schemes are available – such as the how to calculate par value of common stock Double Tax Deduction for Internalisation (DTDI) scheme. Under the DTDI scheme, you may benefit from a tax deduction on eligible expenses for international market expansion and investment development activities, thus freeing up more of your assets for allocation to other purposes.
Creating and Registering Charges in Singapore: Guide for Companies
If you had chosen to register your business as a company, you must apply to ACRA to voluntarily wind up your company or to strike it off the register. For owners/residents of private residential authority, the Home Office Scheme is administered by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA). More information on the Scheme and application procedures can be found here. If you do not intend to rent any office space, you can consider registering your home address as your business address under the Home Office Scheme. Apart from complying with the legal regulations, registering your business is also beneficial.
Choosing a business address
To officially start your business net working capital in Singapore, you must register it with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA). Alternatively, you may also appoint a registered filing agent to submit the application on your behalf. For more information, do refer to our list of articles on setting up a business.
If you are a Dependant’s Pass (DP) holder who wishes to start a business in Singapore, you can apply for a Letter of Consent (LOC) from MOM to run your business, after registering the business with ACRA. More information on the eligibility and application requirements can be found here. Additionally, different business structures will require different processes and requirements to register. Common business structures are Private Limited Companies (similar to Limited Liability Companies in other jurisdictions), Sole Proprietorships, and General Partnerships. Upon successful registration of your business entity, you may need to apply for a licence or permit from other government agencies before commencing business.
A copy of your company’s constitution must be submitted when applying to incorporate your company. If you do not wish to create your own constitution, you may choose to adopt the applicable Model Constitution below. Failure to register your business may result in a fine of up to $10,000, or even imprisonment of up to 2 years, or both. You may refer to the guidelines on selecting a business name issued by ACRA to make the process of choosing a business name more efficient. Additionally, you should also run your proposed business name through the entity search function on the BizFile+ website, which is ACRA’s online filing and information retrieval system. You should run an online Google search to find out if your proposed name is already being used by a currently registered business, or if it is extremely similar to the name of such a business.