Dormant Companies and Their Filing Obligations in Singapore

Dormant Companies and Their Filing Obligations in Singapore 休眠公司及其在新加坡的备案义务

What is a Dormant Company? 什么是休眠公司？

A dormant company is generally one which does not engage in business activity. This may include buying or selling goods, paying dividends, or receiving income. 休眠公司通常是指不从事商业活动的公司。这可能包括购买或出售商品、支付股息或获得收入。

One may consider leaving their company dormant if, for example, they decide to take a break from trading and resume when ready – since a dormant company holds its status only temporarily. 例如，如果他们决定暂停交易，准备好后恢复交易，企业主可以考虑让他们的公司处于休眠状态，因为处于休眠状态的公司只能暂时保持其状态。

As a business owner, you should note that the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) and the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) have different definitions for a dormant company. These distinctions are noteworthy because they affect your company’s obligation to file its annual return with ACRA and its tax return with IRAS. 作为企业所有人，您应该注意到会计和公司监管局（ACRA）和新加坡税务局（IRAS）对休眠公司有不同的定义。这些区别是值得注意的，因为它们影响到贵公司向ACRA提交年度申报表和向IRAS提交纳税申报表的义务。

ACRA’s definition of a dormant company 会计与公司监管局对休眠公司的定义

ACRA’s definition of a dormant company is derived from the Companies Act (CA), which states that a company is dormant during a period in which no accounting transaction occurs. 会计与公司监管局对休眠公司的定义源自《公司法》（CA），该法规定公司在不发生会计交易的期间处于休眠状态。

An accounting transaction is one which affects the financial statements of a company, i.e. transactions which bring in revenue or result in expenses, such as: 会计交易是影响公司财务报表的交易，即产生收入或费用的交易，例如：

• Selling goods to customers 向顾客销售商品
• Purchasing assets from suppliers 向供应商购买资产
• Selling assets (e.g. property, machinery) to a third-party 向第三方出售资产（如财产、机械）
• Issuing a dividend to shareholders 向股东派息
• Borrowing funds from lenders 向贷款人借款

A company will cease to be dormant when such transactions takes place. 当此类交易发生时，公司将不再处于休眠状态。

However, your company will still be defined as a dormant company if a transaction arises from one of the following actions: 但是，如果交易是由下列行为之一引起的，贵公司仍将被定义为休眠公司：

• A subscriber to the company’s constitution takes shares in the company 公司章程的认股人持有公司股份
• The appointment of a company secretary 任命公司秘书
• The appointment of an auditor 审计师的任命
• The maintenance of a registered office 注册办事处的维持
• The keeping of books and registers 簿记和登记的保持
• The payment of any fee (including any penalty or interest for late payment) payable under any written law. 根据任何成文法应支付的任何费用（包括任何罚款或逾期付款利息）。

IRAS’ definition of a dormant company 新加坡税务局对休眠公司的定义

IRAS defines a dormant company as a company which has not conducted any business and has not received any income over a 12-month period. 新加坡税务局将休眠公司定义为在12个月内未开展任何业务且未获得任何收入的公司。

For example, if a company has not conducted any business and has received no income in 2019, IRAS will identify it as a dormant company in Year of Assessment (YA) 2020. 例如，如果一家公司未开展任何业务，且在2019年未获得任何收入，IRAS将在2020年评估年度（YA）将其确定为休眠公司。

Regulatory Obligations and Exemptions for Dormant Companies 休眠公司的监管义务和豁免

Statutory audit and financial statements obligations under ACRA 会计与公司监管局规定的法定审计和财务报表义务

A dormant company is exempted from statutory audit requirements. 休眠公司不受法定审计要求的约束。

As for the requirement to prepare financial statements, a dormant unlisted company (which is not a subsidiary of a listed company) is exempted from preparing financial statements if the following conditions are satisfied: 对于编制财务报表的要求，符合下列条件的，非上市公司（不属于上市公司的子公司）不编制财务报表：

• The company fulfils the substantial assets test (see below) 公司完成重大资产测试（见下文）
• The company has been dormant since incorporation or since the end of the previous financial year 该公司自成立以来或自上一财政年度结束以来一直处于休眠状态
• The directors of the company have lodged a declaration with ACRA stating that the company has been dormant for the relevant period 公司董事已向ACRA提交声明，声明公司在相关期间处于休眠状态

The substantial assets test is satisfied if the total assets of the company at any time within the previous financial year (or if the company is a parent company, the consolidated total assets of the group) do not exceed S$500,000. 如果公司在上一财政年度内的任何时候的总资产（或如果公司是母公司，则集团的合并总资产）不超过50万新元，则符合实质性资产测试。

The directors’ declaration of dormancy must state the following: 董事会的休眠声明必须说明以下内容：

• The company has been dormant since its incorporation or since the end of the previous financial year 公司自成立以来或自上一财政年度结束以来一直处于休眠状态
• No notice has been received under section section 201A(3) of the CA in relation to the financial year 尚未收到根据《公司法》第201A（3）节发出的与财政年度有关的通知
• The company’s accounting and other records have been kept in accordance with section 199 of the CA. 本公司的会计及其它纪录已按照《公司法》第199条备存。

Please note that you must still prepare financial statements if your dormant company is: 请注意，如果您的休眠公司是：

• A listed company 上市公司
• A subsidiary of a dormant listed company 隐名上市公司的子公司
• An unlisted company which does not satisfy the substantial assets test 不符合实质性资产测试的非上市公司

Filing annual returns with ACRA 向ACRA提交年度报告

Dormant companies are required to file annual returns with ACRA. A director, company secretary, or registered filing agent may file the annual return. 休眠公司需要向ACRA提交年度报告。董事、公司秘书或注册备案代理人可提交年度报告。

The annual return is an electronic form which contains important particulars of the company such as its share details, names of company officers, and financial statements. 年报是一种电子表格，其中包含公司的重要详情，如其股份详情、公司职员姓名和财务报表。

Alternatively, a dormant company may file simplified annual returns on the BizFile+ portal, or the ACRA-On-The-Go mobile application. A simplified annual return consists of an annual return form as well but where most information has been pre-filled. 或者，处于休眠状态的公司可以在BizFile+门户网站或ACRA移动应用程序上提交简化的年度回报。简化的年报也包括年报表，但大多数信息都是预先填写的。

A dormant company may file a simplified annual return if the following requirements are met: 如果满足以下要求，休眠公司可以提交简化的年度回报：

• The company has declared itself as a “private dormant relevant company” in its previous annual return 该公司在上一份年报中宣布自己为“私人休眠相关公司”
• The company is not preparing audited financial statements 公司未编制经审计的财务报表
• The company is not required to file financial statements with ACRA 公司无需向ACRA提交财务报表
• The company’s Financial Year End (FYE) falls on, or after, 31 August 2018 本公司财政年度末（FYE）为2018年8月31日或之后
• The company is not altering any information previously filed with ACRA. 该公司不会更改之前向ACRA提交的任何信息。

A “private dormant relevant company” is a dormant company which is not listed and not a subsidiary of a listed company. The assets of such a company also cannot exceed S$500,000. “私人休眠相关公司”是指未上市且非上市公司子公司的休眠公司。这类公司的资产也不能超过50万新元。

Filing Tax Returns with IRAS 向税务局提交纳税申报表

Unless your dormant company has been granted a waiver, it must file its corporate tax return in Form C-S/C for Dormant Company via e-Filing or submission of a hard copy of the tax return to IRAS. However, from YA 2020 onwards, all companies will have to e-File their corporate tax returns via the myTax Portal. 除非您的休眠公司获得豁免，否则它必须通过电子申报或向IRAS提交纳税申报表的硬拷贝，以表格C-S/C的形式为休眠公司提交公司纳税申报表。不过，从2020年起，所有公司都必须通过myTax门户网站将其企业纳税申报表电子存档。

You may wish to refer to the IRAS User Guide for Filing Tax Returns for more information on how to e-File income tax for a dormant company using the myTax Portal. 有关如何使用myTax门户网站为处于休眠状态的公司电子申报所得税的更多信息，请参阅IRAS纳税申报用户指南。

Applying to waive the tax return filing requirement 申请免除报税要求

A director, company secretary, or an “Approver” under CorpPass may apply for a waiver of the dormant company’s obligation to file its tax returns if the following conditions are satisfied: 如果满足以下条件，公司董事、公司秘书或“批准人”可申请免除休眠公司提交纳税申报表的义务：

• The company has submitted its Form C-S/Form C, on the information related to the company’s past activities, such as company revenue, gross profit, purchases, directors’ remuneration and so on, its financial statements and tax computations up to the date of cessation of business 本公司已提交表格C-S/表格C，列明截至停业日期与本公司过去活动有关的资料，例如公司收入、毛利、购买、董事薪酬等，以及截至停业日期的财务报表及税务计算
• It does not own any investments (e.g. real properties, fixed deposits) or derive any income from investments it owns 它不拥有任何投资（如不动产、定期存款）或从其拥有的投资中获得任何收入
• It has been de-registered for the Goods and Services Tax (GST) prior to the waiver application if it had previously been a GST-registered company 如果之前是GST注册公司，则在豁免申请前已取消消费税（GST）的注册
• It must not have the intention to recommence business within the next 2 years. 公司不得有意在未来2年内重新开始营业。

Such waiver may be applied anytime via myTax Portal, or by submitting a hardcopy form to IRAS. 此类豁免可随时通过myTax门户网站申请，或通过向IRAS提交硬拷贝表格申请。

You will receive the outcome of the application at the company’s registered address within 2 months if submitted online, or within 3 months if you submitted a hardcopy form. 如果您在线提交，您将在2个月内收到公司注册地址的申请结果，如果您提交了硬拷贝表格，您将在3个月内收到申请结果。

Once your company has been granted a waiver, you will not need to send a yearly waiver application form to IRAS. 一旦你的公司获得豁免，你就不需要每年向IRAS发送豁免申请表。

IRAS will also not issue either Form C or Form C-S after the waiver has been approved. The waiver will only cease when your company recommences business. 在豁免获得批准后，IRAS也不会发布C表或C-S表。只有当贵公司重新开始营业时，豁免才会终止。

What Steps Do I Need to Take Upon Recommencing Business? 我需要采取什么步骤重新开始业务？

Once your dormant company recommences business, or begins to receive income, you will have to notify IRAS of the resumption of business within 1 month from the date of commencement of business. This is done by emailing IRAS the following details to request an income tax return: 一旦您的休眠公司重新开始营业，或开始收到收入，您将不得不通知IRAS恢复营业，从开始营业之日起1个月内。这是通过向IRAS发送以下详细信息以请求所得税申报表来完成的：

• Subject header: “Recommencement of business and request for Income Tax Return” 主题标题：“重新开始营业并申请所得税申报”
• Name and Unique Entity Number (UEN) of the company 公司名称和唯一实体编号（UEN）
• Date of recommencement of business and new principal activity (if applicable) 重新开始营业和新的主要活动的日期（如适用）
• Date of receipt of other sources of income e.g. interest, dividend, rent, etc. (if applicable) 收到其它收入来源（如利息、股息、租金等）的日期（如适用）

Closing a Dormant Company 关闭休眠公司

If you wish to close your dormant company, there are 2 options available: 如果您希望关闭休眠的公司，有两种选择：

1. Winding up the company; or 公司清盘；或
2. Striking its name off the register of companies. 把它的名字从公司登记册上划掉。

Winding up is generally the more costly option as you will need to account for the liquidator’s remuneration. However, if your company is insolvent, winding up is the only option. 清算通常是更昂贵的选择，因为你需要考虑清算人的报酬。但是，如果你的公司资不抵债，清盘是唯一的选择。

If you are a director and wish to strike off your company on the other hand, you should ascertain that the following matters have been settled with IRAS before submitting an application for striking off to ACRA: 如果您是一名董事，并且希望另一方面撤销您的公司，您应在向ACRA提交撤销申请之前，确定已与IRAS解决了以下事项：

• The company’s income tax returns are submitted up to the date on which it ceased trading 公司的所得税申报表是在其停止交易之日之前提交的
• All outstanding tax matters have been settled with IRAS (e.g. all queries raised by IRAS have been answered, and all tax assessments are finalised and paid) 所有未解决的税务问题均已与税务局解决（例如，税务局提出的所有问题均已得到答复，所有税务评估均已敲定并支付）
• GST registration has been cancelled and there are no outstanding GST matters. 消费税登记已被取消，并无悬而未决的消费税事宜。

The dormant company’s director, secretary, or registered filing agent may then apply to ACRA via BizFile+ to strike off the company if the following conditions are satisfied: 如果满足以下条件，休眠公司的董事、秘书或注册备案代理人可通过BizFile+向ACRA申请注销公司：

• Your company has not commenced business since incorporation, or has ceased trading 贵公司自成立以来未开始营业，或已停止营业
• Your company has no outstanding debts owed to IRAS or any other government agency 贵公司没有欠IRAS或任何其他政府机构的未偿债务
• There are no outstanding charges in the charge register 押记登记册上没有未清押记
• The company is not involved in any legal proceedings (within or outside Singapore) 本公司不参与任何法律程序（在新加坡境内或境外）
• The company is not subject to any ongoing or pending regulatory action or disciplinary proceedings 公司不受任何正在进行或正在进行的监管行动或纪律程序的约束
• The company has no existing assets and liabilities as at the date of application and no assets and liabilities that may arise in the future 截至申请日，本公司并无现有资产及负债，亦无未来可能产生的资产及负债
• All or a majority of the director(s) authorise the applicant to submit the application for striking off on behalf of the company. 全体或过半数董事授权申请人代表公司提交注销申请。

The striking off application does not require a fee. The process of striking off will take at least 4 months to complete. 注销申请不需要收费。注销过程至少需要4个月才能完成。