Singapore

Starting a Business in

Singapore

Below is a detailed summary of the bureaucratic and legal hurdles faced by entrepreneurs wishing to incorporate and register a new firm in Singapore. It examines the procedures, time and cost involved in launching a commercial or industrial firm with up to 50 employees and start-up capital of 10 times the economy's per-capita gross national income.

This information was collected as part of the Doing Business project, which measures and compares regulations relevant to the life cycle of a small- to medium-sized domestic business in 185 economies. The most recent round of data collection was completed in June 2012.

Compare Singapore to 184 other economies.

  • Standardized Company

  • Legal Form: Private Limited Liability Company
  • Paid in Minimum Capital Requirement: None
  • City: Singapore

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No. Procedure Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 Registration on-line with ACRA including company name search and filing the company incorporation and tax number (GST)

The Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) is the national regulator of businesses and public accountants in Singapore." . Incorporation is done through Bizfile, an electronic filing system. An application for the approval and reservation of a company name is to be submitted online via Bizfile. An application fee of SGD 15 is payable for each approved company name. It can generally be completed within an hour after payment online. Once a name has been approved, it will be reserved for 60 days. A one-time application for the extension of the reservation period by a further 60 days can be made before the expiry date. The application fee for the extension is SGD 10 per name.
Entrepreneurs registering a new business can purchase the Business Profile on line at the same time of registration , when filling up the incorporation forms. The processing time is about 15 minutes from the time of successful submission of all documents and all information, and the registration fee payable is SGD 300. The ACRA will issue a notice of incorporation via electronic mail to the law firm or professional firm engaged for the purposes of incorporation upon the successful incorporation of the company together with the registration number of the company.
The registration with the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) for the goods and services tax (GST) when (a) its annual taxable turnover exceeds SGD 1 million became possible whIle incorporating the company using the same online forms.
From 1 December 2011, ACRA has introduced the option for the new business registrants to open a bank account with OCBC Bank also.
1 day SGD 315
2 Make a company seal

The company seal is generally obtained from third-party stationers. Generally a market rate of SGD 35 will be charged if the seal is to be collected within 3 days or approximately SGD 70 if the seal is to be collected within 1 day
1 day SGD 70
3 Sign up for Work Injury Compensation Insurance at an insurance agency

Time and cost may depend on the arrangement between the company and the insurance agency.
1 day no charge
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