The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) reminds companies to file their Corporate Income Tax (CIT) Returns by the statutory due date of 30 Nov 2024. IRAS has observed that each year, about 1 in 10 companies fail to comply with its CIT filing obligations despite repeated reminders. In 2023, over 4,700 companies were prosecuted for late or non-filing of tax returns. The total penalties for late or non-filing of tax returns exceeded $4.9 million.

Enforcement Actions Taken Against Non-Compliant Companies

Companies that do not file their CIT Returns by the due date can be fined up to $5,000. Depending on factors such as the company’s past compliance records, IRAS may compound the offence instead of taking prosecution actions. A company that receives a letter of composition must pay the composition amount and file the overdue tax return, failing which it will be issued a Notice to Attend Court. Errant companies that fail to file their returns for 2 years or more may be ordered by the courts to pay a penalty twice the amount of tax assessed, in addition to the fine.    

Company Directors Held Liable for Late or Non-Filing of CIT Returns

For companies that do not file their returns, IRAS may issue notices to the company directors to request the company’s financial information. Directors who fail to furnish the information by the stipulated date will be subject to heavier penalties of up to $10,000 or court attendance. Failure to attend court may result in a warrant of arrest issued against the company director. In 2023, 1,690 court summons were issued to directors who did not comply with these notices.

For more information on the consequences for late or non-filing of the CIT Returns, please visit the IRAS webpage here.

IRAS Reminds Companies to Prepare All Necessary Documents Early & File by 30 Nov 2024

About 262,000 companies are expected to file CIT Returns this year. IRAS reminds all companies, including those with no business activities or those in a loss position, and their directors to file their Year of Assessment (YA) 2024 CIT Returns by 30 Nov 2024.

To avoid any last-minute rush, companies are encouraged to prepare their financial statements, tax computations, and supporting documents well in advance. Preparing and filing tax returns ahead of the deadline not only help companies avoid unnecessary fines but also provide them with ample time to review the documents, reducing the likelihood of mistakes.

IRAS supports companies by making the annual tax filing process easier and faster:

• The Basic Corporate Income Tax Calculator has explanatory notes to guide companies in working through their tax computations and validation checks against common errors.
• Companies that adopt software with seamless filing capabilities can enjoy up to 95% time-savings and improved compliance as their tax computations and returns are automatically generated and filed from their software. They can also enjoy automatic extension of the CIT filing due date by 15 days to 15 Dec 2024.
• Qualifying companies with annual revenue of $200,000 or less can file Form C-S (Lite), which only requires them to fill in six essential fields – two-third less compared to the Form C-S.
  

Companies which require assistance on the YA 2024 tax filing can visit the IRAS website or check out our comprehensive list of e-learning videos. They can also chat with our officers over live chat, call the helpline at 1800 356 8622 or contact IRAS via myTax Mail if they need further support. If there are errors discovered in past years’ CIT Returns, companies should initiate a voluntary disclosure to IRAS to avoid hefty penalties.

Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore