Requirements to Strike-Off a Company

All Singapore companies applying to strike its name off the register must gain approval from the ACRA. For an approval, a list of criteria must be met.

These conditions include:

  • The company has ceased business operations.
  • The company has closed all its bank account(s).
  • The company is not currently (or will be) involved in any form of court proceedings in or out of Singapore.
  • The company has no assets and liabilities.
  • The company is not indebted (i.e. outstanding penalties or offers of compositions) to the ACRA or other government agencies.
  • The company has no outstanding tax liabilities due to (or tax refund from) the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS).
  • The company has no outstanding fix (or floating) charge in the Register of Charges (e.g. mortgages etc.).
  • All company’s officers have no outstanding ACRA summonses.
  • The company has cancelled its GST status with IRAS (if it is GST registered).
  • The company has consent in writing to the striking off from all directors and shareholders.

Other work the company should perform before strike-off:

  • Up-to-date bookkeeping to the date of cessation, including disposal of assets and liabilities.
  • Up-to-date tax filing and payment to IRAS for all relevant years of assessment.
  • Company resolutions and/or documentation to validate its strike-off application.

The Process of Striking-Off a Company

All strike-off applications must be submitted to the ACRA. The entire process will take at least 4 months.

Upon approval from the ACRA:

Step 1

All relevant persons and body will be informed. A Striking Off Notice will be sent within 14 days of the receipt of application to the company’s registered office address, its directors at their residential addresses and the IRAS.

Step 2

There will be a one month period (as stated in the notice) for anyone to raise objections to the application.

Step 3

Upon expiry of the one month period, a notification of the strike-off intention will be made in the Government Gazette. For 60 days, any interested person can raise an objection to the application.

Step 4

After 60 days from the first Government Gazette notification, if there is no objection, ACRA will strike the company’s name off the register and publish a notification in the Gazette stating the struck-off (also known as the Final Gazette Notification).

Objections Against the Strike-Off

If any objections were submitted during the application period, the company will be informed through ACRA.

The application will be withheld and the company will be given 2 months to resolve the matter:

  • If the matter is resolved, the objector must lodge a “Clearance of an Objection to Striking Off”and the process will continue.
  • If the company is unable to resolve the matter, the application will lapse. A new application can only be submitted after the objection has been cleared.