Striking Off and Closing a Company in Singapore

Let us lighten the burden for you as we unload your shoulders of the painstaking process of striking off your company in Singapore.

Putting up a company involves taking risks; and, among those risks is the reality that it may, at one point, have to close. There are a number of reasons why a company closes: shareholders have irrevocable disputes, business is no longer profitable or is dormant, debts and insolvency, corporate or financial restructuring of the group where the company belongs, and breach of statutory provisions.

Regardless of the reason, closing a company will never be easy. In any case, shutting off the company would beneficial.

A strike off is when a company that is closing has its name removed from the books of the registrar. If a company, for instance, is already dormant, striking it off is a better option that simply ignoring it. Since the company can still be found on the record books, it is still legally bound to file annual tax returns and submit accounts to IRAS. There will be accrued penalties for failing to comply.

The process of closing a company is a rigorous task that requires attention and time with the entire process taking up to five to six months. In addition, the Singapore Companies Act has stringent guidelines and criteria that have to be met before the process can even begin.

We will make the process a lot less tasking for you. We will make sure that the guidelines and criteria will be met by your company in order to smoothly facilitate your request.

Requirements for Strike Off

Before ACRA (Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority) considers your application, the following criteria must be met by the company:

1. No more business activities taking place or has not started operations since incorporation
2. No outstanding tax liabilities with IRAS (Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore)
3. No outstanding debts to any government agency
4. No outstanding charges in the company’s charge register
5. No involvement in any court proceedings within and outside Singapore
6. No current and other possible assets and liabilities
7. No outstanding ACRA summons against the Director/s and Company Secretary
8. Written consent from the majority of company shareholders
9. Submitted balance sheets and company accounts up until the date of cessation of business

For companies that did not have any business activity since it’s company incorporation, a letter stating that no business transactions have been made by the company and that it has no existing bank account must be submitted.

Procedure

1. An application complete with pertinent documents must be submitted to ACRA. Depending on the case and the sufficiency of attached documents, ACRA will approve or reject the application within 5-7 working days.

2. For approved application, ACRA will send you, as well IRAS, a strike off letter. If there are no objections to the striking off in a period of 1 month, ACRA will publish your company name in the Government Gazette. This is the first notification. If, after three months, there is still no objection, then the final Government Gazette notification will be published. This indicates that your company has been struck off from the register.

3. If ACRA receives an objection, the company, which has been duly informed, is given two months to resolve the matter. Failure to do so signifies the termination of the striking off process. Should the objection be resolved within the given time frame, the application process will proceed.

Contact Us for Strike Off Now!