Where is Singapore Representative Office?
By setting up a Representative Office in Singapore, a foreign company will have an avenue to assess business opportunities in the Singapore market. Moreover, such foreign company will find a representative office an ideal option in order to promote brandwork and at the same time work with the local agents and distributors. A representative office is, however, prohibited from engaging in commercial and revenue-generating activities, thus, it cannot conclude contracts nor issue Letters of Credit. It is a set-up for a short term — an unextendible period of three years with mandatory annual renewal. After the expiration of the three-year period, the representative office must upgrade to a Singapore registered company.
What are the other important features of a Singapore Representative Office?
- It is considered only an administrative extension of a foreign company. Thus, it must use the same name as the parent company.
- Since it is prohibited from engaging in commercial revenue-generating activities, it does not need to file for annual tax returns. It is also not required to comply with the filing requirements since it is not an incorporated business entity.
- It is prohibited from negotiating any trading instruments or leasing of warehouses, however, it is allowed to lease office space.
- It is allowed to appoint limited number of staff, both local and foreign, to support its administrative activities.
- A Chief Representative shall be hired and relocated from overseas in order to personally manage the affairs of the representative office. His income shall be subject to income tax.
The registration of a Singapore Representative Office can be finished within 5 days, provided all the necessary documents are in order. The services of a professional specialist may be hired in order to assist in the registration process. Such professional specialist can also assist in the application of of Employment Pass for the Chief Representative who plans to relocate to Singapore to run the Representative Office operations.
The application for registration of a representative office shall be submitted to International Enterprise Singapore for evaluation and approval. Once approved, the IES registration will be valid for 1 year and must be renewed every year for three years. Two months before the expiry of the registration, the IES will send out renewal notices to the representative office concerned. The renewal must be completed seven days before the expiration date. After the end of the three-year period, a representative office must upgrade to a Branch Office or a Subsidiary Company.
Rikvin has effectively facilitated the Singapore representative office , iras singapore income tax and company registration for both non-resident and resident financiers build business firms in Singapore.
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