A business is an unincorporated entity which may be a sole-proprietorship or a general partnership. Individuals and companies, being “legal identities”, may set up and own a sole-proprietorship or partnership.
A Limited Partnership (LP) is a partnership consisting of a minimum of two partners, with at least one general partner and at least one limited partner. An LP does not have a separate legal entity from the partners, i.e. it cannot sue or be sued or own property in its own name. A general partner is responsible for the actions of an LP and liable for all debts and obligations of the LP. A limited partner is not liable for debts and obligations of the LP beyond his agreed contribution, provided he does not take part in the management of the LP.
A Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) is a business vehicle that gives owners the flexibility of operating as a partnership while having a separate legal identity like a private limited company. The LLP has perpetual succession, which means any change in the partners of an LLP will not affect its existence, rights or liabilities.
A company is a business entity incorporated in Singapore. A company has rights to own properties, has perpetual succession and can sue or be sued in its own name. Companies have different setups and are distinguished by the company type e.g. private company, exempt private company, public company limited by shares and public company limited by guarantee.
A foreign company is a company, corporation, association or other body incorporated outside Singapore. A foreign company may carry on business in Singapore by incorporating a local company or registering as a foreign branch under the Companies Act. The foreign company is required to have a registered name, at least 1 local agent and a registered office in Singapore.
iShop@ACRA is a one-stop business information portal for the business community and the public to search and acquire useful entity information.
There is a suite of other eServices available in BizFile+ to cater to your business needs. These include the following:
-Endorsement
-Transaction Status Enquiry
-Application For Refund
-Apply for Corporate Bank account, Domain name, licenses, etc.
-Deposit Service Account
A public accounting firm is registered under the Accountants Act. It is set up by a public accountant for the purpose of providing public accountancy services (audit and reporting on financial statements and performing acts that are required by law to be performed by a public accountant). The other types of entities that public accountants can set up to provide public accountancy services are public accounting corporation and accounting limited liability partnership. |
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Any person who desires to be registered as a public accountant under the Accountants Act must make an application to ACRA via BizFile. The applicant must meet the prescribed requirements for registration as set out in the Accountants Act and its subsidiary legislation. A public accountant (PA) can provide public accountancy services such as audit and reporting on financial statements, and such other activities which the law requires to be done by a PA e.g. a judicial manager. In Singapore, anyone who wishes to practise as a PA must apply to the ACRA to be registered as a PA under the Accountants Act. Persons who intend to provide only book-keeping, accounting, taxation or consultancy services i.e. non-audit services need not be registered as PAs. |
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A liquidator is an officer appointed when a company goes into winding up or liquidation. He is responsible for collecting all of the company’s assets and settling all claims against the company before putting the company into dissolution. A person must be an approved liquidator, if he is to be appointed as a liquidator for compulsory winding up (by the Court or creditors). If he is only performing voluntary winding up (by members or creditors), he need not be registered as an approved liquidator. |
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A corporate service provider (CSP) is a term comprising a Filing Agent and, its Qualified Individual(s), who are required to be registered under the ACRA Act. A Filing Agent is a person who in the course of his business carries out on behalf of any other person any transaction with ACRA using Bizfile+ or any other means permitted or directed by ACRA if Bizfile+ is unavailable, and may include a law firm, accounting firm or corporate secretarial firm that provides statutory filing services for its clients. A Qualified Individual is an individual who performs these transactions, and may include advocates and solicitors, public accountants, chartered accountants and corporate secretarial agents.
A holding company together with its subsidiary (or subsidiaries) are collectively known as group of companies (GC) in BizFile+. The holding company can apply for registration of filing access in Bizfile+ for authorised person(s) to carry out transactions with ACRA on behalf of the GC. The authorised person can be a secretary, an employee or qualified individual appointed, employed or engaged by the GC and who is not a registered filing agent. At least one secretary from the holding company has to be appointed as the group secretary (GS) in Bizfile+.
Finance Module is useful for general public as it provides the functionalities related to Deposit Service Accounts, Online Refunds and Enquiries. On an intranet front it provides a wide range of functionalities such as raising invoices, creating credit notes, receipts for different transactions and generating reports based on various scenarios etc
Finance Module is useful for general public as it provides the functionalities related to Deposit Service Accounts, Online Refunds and Enquiries. On an intranet front it provides a wide range of functionalities such as raising invoices, creating credit notes, receipts for different transactions and generating reports based on various scenarios etc
General
Payment acknowledgement page (Stage 1) – upon a registration of a new entity/payment cart This is targeted at the newly registered entity to offer on the various value added services. Navigation on the main portal (Stage 2) – post registration and returning users This is targeted to the returning users who had missed the opportunity to register on the business related services initially and subsequently wished to take up this offer.