Legislation of Singapore

Service packages Legislation Tax System Audit Services

List of laws and regulations

Act name
Scope of law
Company incorporation
Business Names Registration
Limited partnership
Income tax
Goods and services tax
Public acсountants
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Tax Exchange Information Agreement (TIEA)

USA

List of state regulatory authorities

Ministry of Trade and Industry
Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority
Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore
Singapore Economic Development Board
Intellectual Property Office of Singapore
International Enterprise Singapore
Singapore Business Federation
Association of Small and Medium Enterprises
Singapore Government Directory

Corporate info

Legal system
common law
Types of entity
sole proprietorship; partnership; limited liability partnership; limited partnership; private limited company; exempt private company; public company limited by shares; public company limited by guarantee; foreign branch; representative office
Shelf companies permitted
Yes
Incorporation timescale for a new company
1 day
Company suffix
Limited, Pte or Sendirian Berhad, Sdn. Bhd.
Sensitive words
identical names; undesirable; prohibited; offensive
Cyrillic alphabet permitted in company name
No
Local registered office
Yes
Local registered agent
Yes
Information to be kept at the registered office
incorporation documents; financial statements
Seal required, type of seal
round metallic company seal
Redomiciliation (to, from) permitted
not permitted

Director and secretary

Minimum number of directors
1
Residency requirements for directors
Yes
Corporate directors permitted
No
Directors’ meetings/frequency/location
Yes / annually
Disclosure to local agent
Yes
Disclosure to public
Yes
Company secretary required
Yes
Residency requirements for a secretary
Yes
Qualified secretary required
Yes
Corporate secretary permitted
No

Shareholder and beneficiary

Minimum number of shareholders
1
Residency requirements for shareholders
No
Corporate shareholder permitted
Yes
Meetings/frequency/location
Yes / annually / no requirements
Disclosure to local agent
Yes
Disclosure to public
Yes
Beneficiary info disclosure to
No

Shares and share capital

Minimum authorized share capital
No requirements
Minimum issued share capital
1
Minimum paid share capital
1
Authorized capital payment deadlines
No requirements
Issued capital payment deadlines
Upon registration
Standard currency
SGD
Standard authorized share capital
1
Standard par value of shares
1
Shares with no par value permitted
Yes
Bearer shares permitted
No

Taxes

Personal tax
2-22%
Сorporate tax
17%
Corporate tax (in detail)
The income tax rate is 17%. Partial tax exemptions up to certain small amounts and other benefits apply
Capital gains tax
No
Capital gains tax. Details
VAT
7%
VAT. Details
Goods and Services Tax - GST is an indirect tax similar to VAT. The GST rate is 7%
Withholding tax
0%/10%/15%
Other taxes
Social contributions, Property tax
Exchange control
No
Government fee
S$20
Stamp duty
0,2-4%

Accounts

Requirement to prepare accounts
Yes
Requirement to file accounts
Yes
Publicly accessible accounts
No
Requirement to file Annual Return
Yes
Publicly accessible Annual Return
Yes
Audit required
Yes

General information shortly

Location
Southeastern Asia
Total area
715.8 sq.km
Population
5.686.000 (2020)
Capital
Singapore
National currency
Singapore Dollar
Conditional reduction of currency
SGD
Against USD
0,73 (2022)
Climate, average max and min t°
equatorial; average t in January is 1°C lower than in June; a lot of percipitation; the lowest t +19,4 °C, the highest +36°C
Time difference from Moscow
+ 5 hours
Dialing code
+65
State language
English, Chinese, Malay, Tamil
Ethnic groups
Chinese 76,8 %, Malay 13,9%, Indian 7,9%, the rest are English, Arab, Jewish, Thai, Armenian, Japanese, Eurasians
Literacy rate
97,5% (2019)
History
The modern history of Singapore begins since 1819, when British statesman Stamford Raffles signed a treaty with Sultan Hussein Shah of Johoron behalf of the British East India Company to develop the southern part of Singapore as a British trading post. During World War II, Japan won the battle of Singapore and took it under control till the end of the war in 1945. Since 1959 Singapore had become an internally self-governing state within the Commonwealth. In 1963 Singapore declared independence from the United Kingdom and joined with Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak to form the new Federation of Malaysia. However, two years later it gained independence as the Republic of Singapore. Singapore’s secession was painless, as the leaders of Federation were suspicious about Singapore's majority of ethnic Chinese and worried that Singapore's economic clout would shift the center of power from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore. From 1959 to 1990s despite the lack of resources (it even gets water from Malaysia), Singapore managed to solve most of the internal problems and made a leap from an undeveloped country to a highly developed country with high living standards.
Credit rating
AA+
Government type
Parliamentary republic
Executive branch
President and Cabinet led Prime-Minister
Legislative branch
Unicameral Parliament
Judicial branch
Supreme Court, consisting of High Court and Court of Appeal; minor courts
Unemployment
3,1% (2020)
GDP per capita rank
2 (2020)
Corruption perceptions index rank
85 (2021)

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