Section 202 Relief – Exclusion of Directors’ Shareholding Interests in Financial Statement (Companies Act 1967)

With effect from 9 December 2024, the Registrar of Companies introduced a class exemption under Section 202(2) of the Companies Act 1967. This exemption allows private and non-listed public companies to exclude directors’ shareholding disclosures from their annual directors’ statements, provided that unanimous consent from shareholder(s) is obtained.  

This regulatory development offers a practical means to comply with the reporting obligations while maintaining statutory transparency through existing statutory registers. 

Our Corporate Secretarial team can assist with the implementation of this exemption, from preparing the necessary consent from shareholder(s) to drafting compliant directors’ statements, and supporting your process. 

We can help your company benefit from this relief compliance, contact us today. 

Corporate Service Providers Act 2024 Effective 9 June 2025

The Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (“ACRA”) has informed that the Corporate Service Providers Act 2024 ('CSP Act') and the accompanying Corporate Service Providers Regulations 2025 ('CSP Regulations'), detailing the CSP Act's requirements, effective 9 June 2025.

For entities which perform corporate services by way of business but are not currently registered with ACRA as a Registered Filing Agent, they will be given a 6-month period until 9 Dec 2025 to register as a Corporate Service Provider (“CSP”).

The legislative amendments introduced the following key changes: 

1. Requires all business entities carrying on a business of providing corporate services in or from Singapore to register with ACRA as registered corporate service providers ('CSPs').

2. Requires all registered CSPs to comply with obligations, including AML/CFT/PF obligations.

3. Introduce fines for breaches of AML/CFT/PF obligations by registered CSPs and their senior management.

4. Prohibit persons from acting as nominee directors by way of business unless the appointments are arranged by registered CSPs and they have been assessed as fit and proper by the registered CSPs.

5. Requires nominee directors’ and nominee shareholders’ nominee status and the identities of their nominators to be disclosed with ACRA.

6. Increase fines pertaining to the register of registrable controllers, register of nominee directors, and register of nominee shareholders.

For guidance on CSP Act compliance, contact us today.

Introduction of Contact Address to Replace Alternate Address by end Dec 2024

The ACRA (Registry and Regulatory Enhancements) Bill was passed on 2 July 2024 by Parliament, following which, the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory (“ACRA”) has introduced the use of Contact Addresses to enhance the protection of residential addresses filed with the Registrar.

As the national business registry, ACRA maintains and makes publicly available information about business entities and associated individuals, including their residential addresses. By the end of 2024, the Contact Address will be shown in ACRA’s public records instead of the residential address. However, the residential address must still be submitted to ACRA for its records.

Transitioning to the new Contact Address Regime 

Currently, there is an option to provide an Alternate Address at a fee of $40 which will be displayed in ACRA’s public records in place of the residential address. The Contact Address regime will replace the existing Alternate Address regime by the end of 2024.    To facilitate the transition to the new Contact Address regime, all existing Alternate Addresses filed with ACRA will be automatically converted to Contact Addresses by the end of the year.  ACRA strongly encourages individuals who have not previously opted for an Alternate Address to consider providing one to ACRA before the Contact Address regime commences by the end of 2024. Their residential address will remain publicly displayed as their Contact Address until a different address is provided to ACRA. ACRA has waived the $40 fee for filing an Alternate Address. No action is needed for individuals who prefer to use their residential address as their Contact Address.

(1) For Individuals who are solely Shareholders

Currently, individual shareholders who hold no other positions are not eligible to file an Alternate Address. They are, however, eligible for the Contact Address regime.  ACRA encourages them to engage their company secretaries or Corporate Service Providers (“CSP”) to access the eService to review their addresses. If the address can be used as the Contact Address, no action is required. If they wish to provide a new address, their company secretaries or CSP can file a new address to be displayed in ACRA’s public records. The new address will be publicly displayed upon successful submission and will automatically convert to the Contact Address upon the commencement of the Contact Address regime.

(2) For Individuals who are Position Holders (e.g. company directors, alternate directors, CEO)

Individuals who are position holders or both a position holder and a shareholder are encouraged by ACRA to provide an Alternate Address through the eServices in BizFile+. New position holders should provide an Alternate Address at the point of registration.  

As part of our responsibilities as a corporate service provider, Trusted Services will be checking with our clients on their preferred addresses and assist with updating ACRA accordingly. If you would like to know more about what we can do for you, visit us at Trusted Services' corporate business services portfolio

For more information on the ACRA contact address changes, read the full announcement by clicking : ACRA Announcement on Contact Address Changes