New Enforcement Actions by ACRA for AGM and AR Breaches

ACRA'S NEW ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS FOR AGM AND AR BREACHES a Rikvin Infographic I www.rikvin.com The Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) stepped up enforcement ACRA actions for breaching the statutory requirements to hold Annual General Meeting (AGM) and to file Annual Return (AR) under the Companies Act. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING AND ANNUAL RETURNS FILING With effect from 1 December 2015, ACRA will be implementing a flat penalty/composition of S$300 per breach of each of the offences as per below: Companies Act Section 175 Companies Act 2 Section 197(4) Companies Act 3 Section 201(1) 1 A company must hold its AGM every calendar year and not more After a company has held its AGM, it has to file the Annual Return For listed companies, the financial statements laid at than 15 the AGM must not be more months from previous AGM. than 4 months old. within 1 month online via If the company is newly incorporated, it has to hold its AGM within 18 months from its incorporation date. Bizfile, ACRA's filing and information retrieval system. For non-listed companies, the financial statements online laid at the AGM must not be more than 6 months old. Breached by Both company and director Both company and director Director ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS Failure to hold AGMS or file ARS will lead to enforcement actions by ACRA Penalties are payable at time of filing (Effective from 2 November 2015) Stage 1: Before summons is issued Failure to hold AGM: Failure to file AR: SUMMONS S$300 S$300 Stage 2: If you still fail to comply, summons will be issued Failure to hold AGM: Failure to file AR: WARRANT S$600 S$600 OF ARREST Stage 3: If you still fail to comply, a warrant of arrest will be issued against directors Failure to hold AGM: Failure to file AR: S$900 S$900 *ACRA has the discretion not to offer composition and to take enforcement action against all or any of the company's officers. *Prior to these revisions, the penalty for late filing of AR and the composition sums for each breach of s175 and s201 range from $60 to $350, depending on the length of default. NEED HELP WITH FILING YOUR AGM / ANNUAL RETURNS? Our accounting and taxation specialists can help you. Call us at +65 6320 1888 for a free consultation. RIKVIN RIKVIN PTE LTD | 30 Cecil Street, #19-08 Prudential Tower, Singapore 049712 Phone: (+65) 6320 1888 | Fax: (+65) 6438 2436 | [email protected] | www.rikvin.com