What Happens If You Don’t Submit Your XBRL Financial Statements to ACRA?
Since the introduction of XBRL, all Singapore-based companies are required to file financial statements with ACRA, except those exempted. Some companies must file a full set of XBRL financial statements, while others must file only key financial data in the XBRL format along with a full set of a signed copy of the FS.
But did you know that XBRL ACRA can take enforcement action and impose a composition sum if your company doesn’t file the annual return on time?
That’s right; there is a late lodgement fee which can even convert to court prosecution if the company or directors do not accept the offer of the composition if ACRA decides not to offer compensation for the breaches.
Before getting to the consequences of non-compliance, let’s discover the timeline for filing AR to ACRA.
- Section 197 of the Companies Act (CA) requires every listed company to file AR within 5 months after its financial year-end.
- All other companies must file the AR within 7 months after the financial year-end.
- For listed companies with share capital that maintain a register outside Singapore, the timeline to file AR is 6 months after the financial year-end.
- For all other companies with share capital that keep the branch registered outside Singapore, AR must be filed within 8 months after the financial year-end.
Consequences of Non-filing XBRL ACRA
- Composition Sum
According to Section 197 of the Companies Act, companies that file an annual return after the due date must pay a late filing penalty of $300-500, depending upon the breach.
- Disqualification
Under Section 155 of the CA, companies and directors convicted of three or more filing offenses within 5 years will be disqualified as a director. And once disqualified, the individual will not be allowed to become a director at any other company or manage any local or foreign company for 5 years.
- Striking Off
If there’s a reasonable cause to believe that a company is not carrying out any business or operations, ACRA may choose to disqualify the directors and strike off the company.
- Court Prosecution
XBRL ACRA may choose to prosecute the directors for late lodgement or failure to lodge annual returns. In such a case, if the court convicts the directors or the company’s representatives, a fine of up to $5,000 per charge may be levied.
For more information about enforcement actions against defaulter companies and directors, please follow the below link:-
Stay tuned and read the DataTracks blog to know more about the filing and compliance requirements of ACRA.