What is an annual return?
The annual return is an electronic form lodged with ACRA and contains important particulars of the company such as the name of the directors, secretary, its members, and the date to which the financial statements of the company are made up to. The annual return provides critical information that helps the company’s stakeholders to make informed decisions.
The appointed officer of your company (e.g. a director or company secretary) can file the annual return on ACRA’s online filing portal BizFile+. Alternatively, you can engage the services of a registered filing agent like us to do this on behalf of the company.
Timeline of annual return
From 31 August 2018, the timelines for holding Annual General Meetings and the filing of annual returns have been aligned with the financial year ends of companies. Please see the details below to see when your company is required to file its annual returns, based on the financial year end.
Companies with financial year ending before 31 August 2018
- You must hold your first Annual General Meeting (AGM) within 18 months of the date of incorporation and submit your annual return within 30 days of the AGM.
- For companies that have a share capital and have a branch outside Singapore, the annual return should be submitted within 60 days of the AGM.
Companies with financial year ending on or after 31 August 2018
- For listed companies, you must hold an annual general meeting (AGM) within 4 months after the company’s financial year end (FYE) and submit the annual return within 1 month of the AGM.
- For non-listed companies, you must hold an annual general meeting (AGM) within 6 months after the company’s financial year end (FYE) and submit an annual return within 1 month of the AGM.
- For companies with share capital and with branches outside Singapore, submit the annual return within 6 months (for listed companies) or 8 months (for non-listed companies) after the financial year end (FYE).
In addition, please note the following:
- The annual return needs to be submitted after the annual general meeting (AGM) has been held.
- The annual return needs to be submitted after the submission of the financial statements (if the company is not required to hold a general meeting).
- For private dormant companies that are exempt from preparing financial statements or from holding AGMs, the annual return needs to be submitted after the end of the financial year.
After the end of the company’s financial year, our secretarial services team will remind and check with you whether your company qualifies as a dormant company and perform a simple annual return filing and tax return. If you have any questions you can contact us early for consultation and good legal compliance protection for your company.
