CATEGORY: NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS, PRESS RELEASES
With effect from 30 July 2020, all
companies, foreign companies and limited liability partnerships (LLPs) will be
required to file the information that they presently maintain in their Register
of Registrable Controllers (RORC), with ACRA’s Central Register of Controllers.
This is part of ACRA’s ongoing efforts to uphold Singapore’s reputation as a
trusted financial hub, and to further enhance the transparency of ownership and
control of corporate entities.
2 The
RORC information in ACRA’s Central Register of Controllers will only be made
available to law enforcement agencies for the purpose of administering or
enforcing the laws under their purview (e.g. investigation of money laundering
offences). Members of the public will not have access to the RORC information.
3 Since
31 March 2017, all companies, foreign companies and LLPs unless exempted[1], are required to set up
and maintain a RORC at the registered office address or the registered office
address of their appointed Registered Filing Agents (RFAs), and update any
change in the controllers’ information to the RORC within two business days[2]. RORC contains information
of individuals and legal entities that have significant interest, or
significant control over the company, foreign company or LLP. Please see Annex A(PDF, 49KB) for the prescribed information to be maintained in a RORC.
4 Under
the law, all companies, foreign companies and LLPs are required to file the information
in their existing RORC with ACRA’s Central Register of Controllers, within 30
days from 30 July 2020. In view that Singapore has just exited the Circuit
Breaker and to assist business entities to ease into the resumption of normal
business activities, ACRA will allow entities to file their RORC information with
ACRA by 29 September 2020. All they need
to do is upload the RORC information at BizFile+ (www.bizfile.gov.sg), ACRA’s online filing portal. The
filing process has been kept simple after taking into account feedback from
corporate service providers and some companies.
5 Henceforth, any change to the controllers’ information must
be updated in the entities’ RORC and similarly filed with ACRA’s Central
Register of Controllers within two business days thereafter. The information
can be lodged by the directors, secretaries, or partners, or by their appointed
RFAs. Failure to do so is an offence that can attract a fine of up to $5,000
upon conviction. Details of the requirements of RORC can be found at www.acra.gov.sg/registers-of-controllers.
[1]
Please refer
to the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Schedule of the Companies Act, and Sixth
Schedule of the Limited Liability Partnerships Act for the exempted entities.
[2] Any
change in controllers’ information must be updated in the RORC within two
business days after the particulars are confirmed by the controller(s), or two
business days after the end of 30 days after which a notice has been sent to
the controller(s) and the notice was not responded to by the controller(s).
ACCOUNTING AND CORPORATE REGULATORY AUTHORITY
28 JULY 2020
Document for download:
2021/06/03