At a glance
| Registrar | Government fee | Directors | Tax rate | GST threshold | Annual return |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ACRA | S$15 name application plus S$300 incorporation | At least one ordinarily resident in Singapore | 17% | S$1 million of taxable turnover | Within 7 months after financial year end |
What ACRA requires
Incorporation itself is quick and online. The requirements that decide whether you can do it are about people and premises, not paperwork.
The resident director
You must appoint at least one director who is ordinarily resident in Singapore. This is checked at registration, and it is the single most common reason an Indian founder cannot incorporate on their own.
If one of your founders already lives in Singapore and meets the residency test, you are done. If nobody does, you have three options: relocate a founder, hire a Singapore-based director who will actually serve, or engage a nominee director through a corporate service provider.
Nominee directors: what they do and do not solve
A nominee director satisfies the resident director requirement. That is all it does.
- It is not a shield. A director owes duties to the company whatever the arrangement behind the appointment, so a nominee will insist on oversight, indemnities and limits on what the company does.
- It is a recurring cost, usually with a security deposit, and it is a relationship you have to maintain.
- Banks and investors look at it. A company whose only Singapore presence is a nominee and a registered address is harder to bank and harder to explain in diligence.
We will tell you plainly whether a nominee arrangement is workable for your plans, or whether Singapore is the wrong jurisdiction for you.
Registered office and company secretary
The registered office must be a Singapore address, and it must be open and accessible to the public during normal business hours on each business day. A mailbox that nobody attends does not meet that.
You will also need a company secretary, and the Singapore corporate service provider that administers the company normally supplies both the registered office and the secretary. ACRA's own guide does not specify a minimum paid-up capital, and companies are commonly incorporated with a nominal amount.
Corporate tax in Singapore
Singapore's corporate income tax rate is 17 percent. It applies to chargeable income, and the exemptions below reduce the amount actually taxed rather than the rate.
The Start-up Tax Exemption
A qualifying new start-up company gets, for its first three Years of Assessment:
| Chargeable income | Exempt | Exempt amount |
|---|---|---|
| First S$100,000 | 75% | S$75,000 |
| Next S$100,000 | 50% | S$50,000 |
So up to S$125,000 of the first S$200,000 of chargeable income is exempt in each of those three years. Not every company qualifies, so we confirm eligibility before you build the number into a plan.
If the start-up scheme does not apply
Every other company gets the Partial Tax Exemption:
| Chargeable income | Exempt | Exempt amount |
|---|---|---|
| First S$10,000 | 75% | S$7,500 |
| Next S$190,000 | 50% | S$95,000 |
That is up to S$102,500 of the first S$200,000. A company moves onto this basis after the start-up years, so model the fourth year separately when you build a forecast.
GST registration
Registration is compulsory once your taxable turnover exceeds S$1 million. Since 1 January 2019 the test is prospective: turnover for a 12-month period is looked at as at the end of each calendar year, and registration is applied for within 30 days.
GST is charged at 9 percent, the rate that applies from 1 January 2024.
There is an exception where you are certain, because of specific circumstances, that your taxable turnover for the next 12 months will not exceed S$1 million. That exception is documented, not assumed, so keep the evidence for it.
The annual calendar: ACRA and IRAS
Two regulators, two sets of dates. This is where a Singapore company quietly falls out of compliance while the founders are in India.
| When | What | Who |
|---|---|---|
| Within 3 months from the end of the financial year | File the Estimated Chargeable Income | IRAS |
| Within 7 months after financial year end | File the annual return, for a non-listed company | ACRA |
| Annually | File the corporate income tax return (Form C-S or Form C) for the Year of Assessment | IRAS |
| Annually, with the tax return | Financial statements and tax computation, prepared to Singapore standards | IRAS |
| As and when | Changes in directors, shareholders, registered office or share capital | ACRA |
ACRA's guidance warns of penalties of up to S$600 for filing the annual return late. We confirm the exact due date for your first tax return once the financial year end is fixed, because it follows the Year of Assessment rather than the calendar. Track both sets of dates on our compliance calendar.
What it costs: ACRA fees
These are ACRA's published transaction fees, and they are what you pay the registrar. They are separate from our fee and from the Singapore service provider's charges for the registered office, secretary and any nominee director.
| ACRA transaction | Fee |
|---|---|
| Apply for a new business entity name | S$15 |
| Register a new business entity | S$300 |
| File annual return | S$60 |
Pick the financial year end deliberately at incorporation. It sets both the ACRA annual return deadline and the IRAS filing dates for the life of the company.
The India side: what you must report
If you are resident in India and put money into a Singapore company's equity, the Indian reporting starts before the money moves.
- It is an overseas direct investment under the Foreign Exchange Management (Overseas Investment) Rules, 2022, reported to the Reserve Bank of India in Form FC through your authorised dealer bank. Speak to the bank before remitting: late reporting attracts a late submission fee. We prepare the pack and coordinate with the bank, and we do not file with the RBI or issue you a unique identification number.
- A resident individual can invest only in an operating foreign entity, not one engaged in financial services, and the remittance counts towards the Liberalised Remittance Scheme limit of US$250,000 per financial year, April to March. A holding-only Singapore vehicle funded by an individual does not fit that, so the investor is usually an Indian private limited company.
- An Annual Performance Report is filed for the Singapore entity each year, certified by a chartered accountant where the entity has no statutory audit, which includes investments made by resident individuals.
The same framework applies to any outbound investment, so if you are also comparing the United States or the UAE, see US company setup and UAE company setup for those jurisdictions.
Is Singapore income taxed in India?
If you are resident in India for tax purposes, you are taxed in India on income wherever it arises, so dividends or fees you take out of a Singapore company are within the Indian net. Where the same income is taxed in both countries, relief comes under the tax treaty between India and Singapore.
Residence turns on facts and days, and holding shares in a Singapore company does not change it. See ITR for NRIs and NRI tax services for the residence tests, and Form 10F and the tax residency certificate for what a payer needs before applying a treaty rate.
When Singapore is the right answer, and when it is not
Singapore usually fits when:
- An investor or an acquirer has asked for a Singapore holding company (see shareholders agreement for the investor terms)
- You sell software or services to customers across South East Asia and need a local contracting entity
- You need a jurisdiction with a clear tax regime and a banking system your customers recognise
- You have, or can put, a real person and real activity in Singapore
Singapore usually does not fit when:
- The only reason is to lower tax, with nothing and nobody in Singapore
- An individual wants a holding-only vehicle funded under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme, which the overseas investment rules do not permit
- The recurring cost of a nominee director, a secretary and a registered office outweighs the benefit at your stage
- Your customers and revenue are entirely Indian
We give you that answer before you spend anything, even when the answer is no.
The reverse direction, a Singapore or other foreign parent setting up in India, is covered on our Indian subsidiary and foreign subsidiary pages.
How we run a Singapore setup
- Structure call. We confirm whether Singapore fits, who the investor is, who can be the resident director, and what the India-side route looks like.
- Name and documents. We reserve the name with ACRA and prepare the constitution, director and shareholder consents and identification documents.
- Incorporation. We file the registration with ACRA through our Singapore counterpart, and set up the registered office and company secretary.
- Tax and GST. We confirm the Year of Assessment position, register for GST where a threshold is crossed or voluntary registration makes sense, and set the financial year end.
- Bank account. We prepare the application. Approval is the bank's decision, and we tell you plainly what the file looks like.
- India-side reporting and calendar. We prepare the Form FC pack, coordinate the filing with your AD bank, and put the ACRA and IRAS dates and the Annual Performance Report on your calendar.
What we need from you
- Passport and address proof of each shareholder and director
- Details of anyone who is or can be ordinarily resident in Singapore, if you have someone
- Indian entity's incorporation documents and latest audited financial statements, where the investor is a company
- Proposed shareholding, share capital and funding route, with amount and timing
- Intended business activity and where your customers are
- Preferred financial year end, or tell us and we will recommend one
- Your AD bank details and the branch handling the remittance
Fees
Our professional fee is on quote after a free review, because the work depends on the shareholding, whether a nominee director is needed and whether GST registration is in scope. ACRA fees are verified and paid at actuals, and the Singapore service provider's recurring charges are separate.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Regikart professional fee: Singapore structure advice, incorporation coordination and India-side reporting | Fee on quote after a free review |
| ACRA government fees | S$15 name application plus S$300 incorporation; S$60 for each annual return |
| Singapore registered office, company secretary and nominee director | At actuals, charged by the Singapore service provider. We confirm the amounts in writing before you commit |
| Related services with a confirmed fee | US company setup: LLC from ₹49,999, Delaware C-Corp from ₹49,999, US bank account assistance from ₹4,999 |
Professional fees exclude GST at 18%. Government fees, where they apply, are paid at actuals to the department and are shown separately. Fees verified on 27 September 2026.
Where Singapore setups go wrong
- No resident director lined up, so the incorporation stalls after the name is reserved.
- Treating a nominee director as a formality. The nominee owes duties to the company and will impose conditions.
- A registered address nobody attends, when it must be open and accessible to the public during normal business hours on each business day.
- A financial year end picked at random, which then fixes awkward ACRA and IRAS dates for the life of the company.
- Missing the Estimated Chargeable Income filing, which is due within three months of the financial year end and is easy to forget from India.
- Missing the ACRA annual return, with penalties of up to S$600.
- Assuming the start-up exemption applies. Not every company qualifies, and it runs for the first three Years of Assessment only.
- Building a forecast on the start-up exemption in year four, when the company has moved onto the partial exemption.
- Remitting before speaking to the AD bank, so the Form FC reporting is late and a late submission fee applies.
- An individual funding a holding-only vehicle under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme, which the overseas investment rules do not permit.
Why founders use Regikart
- Reviewed by a Chartered Accountant who works on cross-border structuring, and who will tell you when Singapore is the wrong answer.
- Both sides in one engagement. ACRA incorporation and the Singapore calendar, and the Indian reporting with your AD bank.
- We state our role accurately. We prepare the Form FC pack and coordinate with the bank. The reporting goes to the RBI through the bank, and we do not claim to issue the unique identification number.
- Verified figures only. ACRA fees and IRAS rates are published here from ACRA and IRAS. Service provider charges are confirmed in writing before you commit.
- Connected services: US company setup, UAE company setup, Form 15CA and 15CB, ITR for NRIs and valuation under Rule 11UA where shares change hands in a holding structure.
- 250+ clients served from Kolkata, Delhi and Bengaluru.