【Singapore Company Registration Tips】All business service providers must register with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority of Singapore-FOZL

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【Singapore Company Registration Tips】All business service providers must register with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority of Singapore

On July 2, 2024, Singapore passed two new bills—the "Corporate Service Providers Bill and Companies" and the "Limited Liability Partnerships (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill". The Chinese names are 《企业服务供应商法案》and《公司与有限责任合伙人（杂项修订）法案》 The key amendments are as follows:

1. All companies providing corporate services in Singapore, even if only serving overseas clients, must register with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) as a corporate service provider. This requirement includes companies and other business entities providing corporate services in Singapore, or companies providing specific accounting services. Individuals from corporate service providers who violate the regulations may, upon conviction, be fined up to SGD 50,000 or imprisoned for up to 2 years .

2. All registered corporate service providers are required to comply with obligations, including anti-money laundering, combating the financing of terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (AML/CFT/PF) obligations;

3. Fines will be imposed on registered corporate service providers and their senior management for violations of AML/CFT/PF. Upon conviction, corporate service providers and senior management may face a maximum fine of SGD 100,000 .

4. It is prohibited for anyone to act as a nominee director commercially unless the appointment is arranged by a registered corporate service provider and assessed by the provider as suitable. This means only individuals arranged by corporate service providers can serve as nominee directors . Violators will be fined up to SGD 10,000. Corporate service providers must also ensure that the nominee directors they arrange are suitable; otherwise, they may face a maximum fine of SGD 100,000.

5. Companies are required to provide the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority with full information on nominee personnel, including details of nominee directors and nominee shareholders , as well as the identity of the nominator.

6. Increased fines related to the register of beneficial owners, the register of nominee directors, and the register of nominee shareholders. The maximum fine for failing to maintain the relevant registers, failing to update, or failing to correct incorrect information will be increased from SGD 5,000 to SGD 25,000.

The Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority will provide ample preparation time for the implementation of the proposed amendments. For more details, please visit the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) website for more information.