Some recent important announcements from government departments which may be useful to you

We also would like to share some recent important announcements from government departments which may be useful to you.

1. New seamless filing initiative to help SMEs go digital – from ACRA   (click here)
   • ACRA and IRAS have partnered Accounting software providers to co-create a new digital solution that allows SMEs (with fulfilled the requirements) to automate the preparation and filing of statutory filings with ACRA and IRAS seamlessly.
   • The seamless filing solution is suitable for smaller companies with simple tax affairs and accounting transactions. You can refer to the link above to check the types of companies which are suitable to adopt the seamless filing solution.
2. Register of Registrable Controllers (RORC)  – from ACRA (click here)
   • ACRA will be providing the reliefs to the “Update Register of Registrable Controllers (RORC)” transaction in BizFile+ will continue to be suspended until December 2020. The deadline for Companies and Limited Liability Partnerships to file Register of Registrable Controllers information with ACRA would be extended to 31 March 2021.
3. Register Auto-Inclusion Scheme (AIS) for Employment Income – from IRAS   (click here)
   • From YA2021, below employers are compulsory to participate in the AIS.  Do contact us for AIS registration!
     1. With 6 or more employees
     2. Who have received the “Notice to File Employment Income of Employees Electronically under the Auto-Inclusion Scheme (AIS)”
   • Employers who have less than 6 employees are encouraged to join AIS.
   • AIS employers do not need to distribute hard copies of the IR8A/IR8S/Appendix 8A/Appendix 8B to their employees.
4.  Extension of the JSS as announcement on 17 Aug 2020 – from IRAS   (click here)
   • The JSS will be extended by up to seven months (but at lower support levels) to cover wages paid up to Mar 2021, bringing the total wage support under the JSS to 17 months for most sectors. The additional support will be paid out by Mar and Jun 2021.
5. New Salary Criteria for Employment Pass and S-Pass from 1 September 2020 – from MOM   (click here)
   • The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) adjusted the salary requirement to $4,500 (EP) and S$2,500 (S-Pass) for all new applicants.
   • MOM also extend the FCF job advertising requirement to S-Pass applications and adjust the minimum FCF job advertising duration for EP and S-Pass applications from 14 days to 28 days with effectively from 1 October 2020.