Important Deadlines for Businesses in Singapore 2023

Staying on top of deadlines can be a challenge for busy business owners, but it is crucial for statutory compliance in Singapore. As we approach the second half of 2023, there are more upcoming dates that businesses need to pay attention to. Failing to comply can lead to costly penalties, so it is important to start early and allow plenty of time for completion. To help you out, we’ve created a checklist of important compliance requirements for the rest of the year:

For Accounting

Prepare Management Accounts

After each financial year end (FYE), the management accounts are to be prepared and finalised within 3 months. The management accounts include profit and loss statement and balance sheet. The numbers would form the base of filing the Estimated Chargeable Income (ECI) with IRAS which is due 3 months after FYE. For more information, refer to tax compliance below.

Prepare Financial Statements

All companies in Singapore are required to prepare annual financial statements within 6 months after FYE. A good set of financial statements are prepared in accordance with Singapore Financial Reporting Standards (SFRS) and should include a statement by directors, statement of comprehensive income, statement of financial position, statement of changes in equity, statement of changes in cash flow and notes.

Financial statements are one of the most important reports for your company. It is relied upon by the shareholders to obtain an accurate picture of the company’s performance and financial health, as well as external shareholders including banks for the purpose of assessing the loan eligibility of the company as a borrower, government agencies for grant eligibility or award of tender, and many more.

If you have any questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to consult with qualified accounting and financial statement services for more information.

Comply with Companies Act Singapore

In accordance with the Companies Act, directors are responsible to maintain proper accounting records to enable the preparation of true and fair financial statements. You are required to keep a copy of your financial records for five years after the end of the financial year in which the transactions were recorded.

For Regulatory Compliance

Hold Annual General Meeting (AGM)

In addition, you should also arrange for the mandatory AGM meeting with your company shareholders within six months after your FYE, unless your company is exempted from holding AGM.

Private companies, for example, do not need to hold AGMs if their members receive the financial statements within five months after the FYE. If you are a private dormant relevant company, you also need not hold this yearly meeting. However, do note that if there are any requests from members to hold AGM no later than 14 days before the end of the sixth month after the FYE, the exemption would not apply and your company would still need to hold AGM.

File Annual Returns with ACRA

To ensure that the company’s updated information is lodged in ACRA’s register, all Singapore-incorporated companies need to file the annual returns. This has to be filed with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) Singapore:

Within five months after the FYE for listed companies; or
Seven months after the FYE for non-listed companies

For late filing, the fine is $300 and would increase to $600 if filing is done more than three months late.

For Tax Compliance

File Estimated Chargeable Income (ECI)

The Estimated Chargeable Income (ECI) is a measure of a company’s taxable profits for its Year of Assessment. It is compulsory for businesses to report the ECI with the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) within three months from the FYE.

For example, if your FYE is in March 2023, you will have until 30 June 2023 to file. Likewise, if your FYE is in September 2023, be sure to mark 31 December 2023 as the deadline to file your ECI. As a rule of thumb, you can proceed once your ECI filing status indicates “Ready to File” on the myTax Portal.

In addition, the earlier you submit your ECI in the first 3 months from the company’s FYE, the higher the number of instalments your company will be entitled to. The instalments granted would be 10, 8, and 6 for companies that submit by the 26th of the first, second and third month from the FYE. This is applicable for Singapore-registered companies that are on a GIRO arrangement. On the other hand, if you fail to submit your ECI on time, you won’t be able to qualify for instalment payments and will be required to pay the full tax amount within one month from the date of the Notice of Assessment (NOA).

Declare Your Company Income by filing Corporate Tax Return

By 30 November each year, you need to file the corporate income tax return for the preceding financial year. There are 3 types of corporate tax return as follow:-

Form C-S: Singapore-incorporated companies with annual revenue of $5 million or below
Form C-S (Lite): Singapore-incorporated companies with annual revenue of $200,000 or below
Form C: All companies that do not qualify for Form C-S or Form C-S (Lite)

Unlike the Form C-S and Form C-S (Lite), you will need to submit the latest financial statements and tax computations with your Form C submission. Thus, do take into consideration the time required to prepare these documents. Regardless of your FYE, the deadline to file the corporate tax return is 30 November for all companies. If you are unable to file your tax returns on time, IRAS will send out an estimated NOA where you are expected to pay the estimated tax within one month. IRAS may also issue a Section 65B(3) notice to your company director as a follow-up for the necessary submission or summon the company to Court.

That being said, depending on your compliance records thus far, you may have the option to pay a composition amount to avoid litigation.

File Goods and Services Tax (GST) Returns

If your company is GST-registered, you would need to file GST return every quarter. The organisation’s GST accounting period is in accordance with FYE. GST return is due on the last day of the month following the end of each quarter. For example, companies with financial year ending December, March, June, or September would have to file GST by the specified due dates:

For 1 January to 31 March: file by 30 April
For 1 April to 30 June: file by 31 July 2023
For 1 July to 30 September: file by 31 October 2023
For 1 October to 31 December: file by 31 January 2024

If you have missed the deadline to file your GST returns, you will be subject to a late submission penalty of $200. The penalty will increase by $200 for each completed month that the GST return is not filed, subject to a maximum of $10,000 per outstanding GST return. You may also be issued an estimated NOA with a 5% late payment penalty on the estimated tax. Additionally, should you constantly fail to file your GST returns, bear in mind that you may receive a summons where the persons responsible for the operations of the business have to attend Court.

Engage Accounting, Financial Statements, Corporate Tax, GST Filing Services and More

All of the above deadlines, except for the corporate tax return due 30 November each year, are dependent on your company’s financial year end. Chartsworth’s tax services can help you with the above obligations and ensure that you’re compliant with the latest rules and regulations in Singapore. We can also help to minimise your organisation’s tax liability, freeing up cash that can be reinvested in the business. If you’re not already working with a tax or accounting professional, now is the time to engage our services ranging from tax computation, corporate tax and GST filing, tax advisory and many more. Doing so will help your business run more smoothly and avoid any hefty penalties. Find out more about tax services or simply get in touch with us if you have any enquiries.