Registration of Company Singapore? A Guide For Newbie’s

It is not too much of a hassle going about the registration of company in Singapore. The first step to setting up a business in Singapore is to have it registered with Accounting and corporate regulatory authorities in Singapore (ACRA) as soon as you have been able to settle on the business structure.  It could be a sole proprietorship or even a partnership and this you need to determine beforehand.

One is then required to submit an online request for registration and it takes just under 20 minutes for the processing of such on payment of a fee of $50  and a name fee of $15.You are then free to go ahead and sign up for services as soon as your business body  is fully registered.

It could take longer at times if the application needs the approval of other authorities such as the relevant government offices. If the business body is either a sole-proprietorship or a partnership there will be no referral required for its registration. There is also need to have the company registration number on all its letterheads and other company documentation.

The ease with which it is possible to register a company in Singapore is a major attraction to transact business there. A business plan is required to offer guidance for the business activities way before it can be incorporated. The Singapore Entrepreneur Visa is a necessity since it needs to be filled in so that the business can be present in the country for it to begin earning cash. The more innovative one is in introducing a whole new concept to the business community in Singapore the better the returns in money.

The company manager has to make a yearly declaration to ACRA stating whether the business is able or not to settle its debt unpaid since it becomes due in the usual way of business. The initial Annual Declaration has to be made within 15 months the company inception.

It is required that a company should appoint a company secretary in six months of inception. After that is then mandatory for the first Annual General Meeting of the company to take place in 18 months from the time it was registered. Within three months of integration an auditor should be chosen with the annual accounts being reviewed and file with ACRA a month after the AGM.

Any foreign company that requires setting up an enterprise in Singapore has the obligation to appoint two local agents that are Singapore residents to be able to act on its behalf. They should either be citizens or even permanent residents and if they are foreigners they require being in possession of employment or dependant passes. When it comes to some businesses such as banking and stock broking special licenses are required as well as for manufacturers of some products such as cigars.

Going by the Singapore Companies Act, a foreigner or even local person who has attained the age of 18 years and above is eligible to register a company in Singapore. However in the case of a foreigner to be able to register a company one needs to engage the services of a professional firm since Singapore law does not allow foreigners to register to self register a company. One is able to operate the company while outside the country and when need be to visit Singapore he can apply a visitor visa if you need to go there to attend to business for a short time. In which case it is important to have a local director as this is a requirement in Singapore.

In the event that a foreigner wishes to relocate to Singapore in order to be able to run the business more effectively, an employment or entrepreneur pass is required which enables him to act as a local resident. All the procedures of company incorporation and visa application can be done while one is outside Singapore with the exception of the application to open a bank account.

The whole process of registering a company in Singapore takes a short while and this is attractive to entrepreneurs wishing to join  business  in the Singapore marketplace as they are able to avoid the long hustles that are commonplace in most other business hubs all over the world.