Guides to setting up and running a Singapore company
47 guides, free to read. Each one links to the official source, shows when it was last reviewed, and says where you need a lawyer or another licensed adviser. Prefer quick answers? Browse 134 FAQs by topic.
Set-up & structuring
Entity choice, incorporation, investing from India, directors, year end and what it all costs.
15 mistakes Indian groups make in Singapore, and how to plan ahead
From incorporation to the fifth year end, the same avoidable errors appear again and again. Most of them are decided in the first month.
3 min readIndia corridorSetting up a Singapore company from India: both sides of the corridor
What ACRA needs, what the RBI needs, and the order to do it in, so the money, the shares and the paperwork arrive together.
6 min readHow to set up a company in Singapore: the complete path
Every step from the first decision to the first filing, in the order it happens, with links to the detail behind each one.
8 min readIndia corridorODI step by step: investing from India into a Singapore company
The overseas direct investment route for Indian companies: approvals, the bank filing, valuation, and the reporting that follows every year.
5 min readIndia corridorCalendar year or April to March? Choosing the year end for an India-owned Singapore company
Singapore lets you pick any year end. An Indian parent closes on 31 March. Here is what each choice does to consolidation, audits, tax filing and cash.
4 min readWhat it really costs to set up and run a Singapore company
Government fees are small and fixed. Service costs vary with what you need. Here is every line item, so no quote can surprise you.
3 min readIndia corridorLocal directors and nominee directors explained
Every Singapore company needs a resident director. If nobody in your team qualifies, here are the options, what each director is liable for, and what it does to your tax position.
4 min readEmployment Pass for founders and staff, and how COMPASS works
If the people running your Singapore company are not citizens or permanent residents, they need a pass. How eligibility works, what changes in 2027, and how a small company can pass COMPASS.
5 min readDo it yourself, use a platform, or hire a firm?
Some Singapore compliance is simple enough to do yourself on government portals. Some is not. A guide to which is which.
2 min readIndia corridorWho does what: Northwise and our licensed partners
One point of contact should not mean one firm doing everything. Here is every service, who delivers it, and the rule that decides.
2 min readIndia corridorSingapore, GIFT City or Dubai? A comparison for Indian founders
Three popular choices for Indian businesses going international. Each wins on different things. Here is a neutral side by side.
3 min readIndia corridorSubsidiary, branch or representative office: which one for Singapore?
Three ways for an overseas company to be present in Singapore. What each may do, how it is taxed, what the parent is liable for, and when to move up.
4 min readIndia corridorSingapore or Hong Kong for your Asian holding or trading company?
Tax rates, the territorial question, directors and secretaries, audits, and the India treaty rates side by side, so the choice rests on facts.
3 min readCorporate secretarial & compliance
Company secretary, board decisions, statutory deadlines and the first-year checklist.
Singapore and India compliance calendar: every deadline on one page
Every recurring filing for an Indian parent with a Singapore subsidiary, who owns it, and the audit rule that catches most Indian groups.
4 min readIndia corridorBoard meetings or written resolutions? Taking fast decisions without losing substance
A directors' resolution in writing is quick and legal. Used for everything, it also becomes evidence of where your decisions are really made. Here is when to use each tool.
4 min readIndia corridorYour first-year compliance checklist, Singapore and India sides
The registers, appointments, set-ups and filings a new company needs in its first twelve months, with the India-side items for Indian parents.
3 min readWhat a company secretary does
Every Singapore company must have one. A good one keeps the company out of trouble quietly; a weak one is a name on a form. Here is the difference.
2 min readSwitching your accountant or company secretary
Changing provider is routine. Done in the wrong order, it leaves gaps in filings, registers and access. Here is the order that avoids them.
2 min readAccounting, audit & reporting
Audit exemption, consolidation, XBRL and where your accounting is done.
When must a Singapore holding company consolidate? The intermediate holding exemption
A Singapore company with subsidiaries must usually prepare group accounts. An intermediate holding company may be exempt, but the framework you report under decides whether an Indian parent's accounts count.
4 min readIndia corridorDoes my company need an audit?
The small company test, the group rule that catches most subsidiaries of Indian groups, and the ACRA review that may change the thresholds.
3 min readAnnual return, AGM and XBRL in plain English
Three year-end obligations that confuse even experienced finance teams: what each one is, when it is due, and which format of financial statements you file.
3 min readSingapore tax & GST
Corporate tax, ECI and GST for Singapore companies.
Corporate tax for new companies
How the 17% rate, the two exemption schemes and the YA2026 rebate work in your first years, with worked figures, and why an India-owned subsidiary usually gets the smaller exemption.
6 min readECI explained: when you can skip it
Estimated Chargeable Income is an early estimate of taxable profit. Most small companies can skip it; those who file early can pay in more instalments.
4 min readGST: when you must register, and what changes when you do
The S$1 million threshold, the two ways to cross it, voluntary registration, and the e-invoicing step that now comes with registering.
6 min readIndia corridorTax clearance (IR21) when a foreign employee leaves Singapore
When an employer must file IR21, the one-month rule, holding back final pay, and how to handle a seconded manager recalled at short notice.
3 min readCross-border tax & transfer pricing
POEM, certificate of residence, transfer pricing, CbCR, dividends, ESOPs and reverse flips.
POEM and substance: when India can tax your Singapore company, and why positions fail
Two tax authorities ask the same question from opposite ends. India asks whether your Singapore company is really run from India. Singapore asks whether it is really run from Singapore. You need the right answer for both.
7 min readIndia corridorCertificate of residence for India-owned Singapore companies
What IRAS checks, what India asks for under the new Income-tax Act, and why a nominee director alone no longer gets a holding company its certificate.
4 min readIndia corridorCbCR, master file and Pillar Two for Indian groups with Singapore subsidiaries
The group-level transfer pricing filings that catch Indian finance teams out, with the new form numbers under the Income-tax Act, 2025, and what the Singapore subsidiary must do.
4 min readIndia corridorTransfer pricing between India and Singapore
When Singapore documentation becomes mandatory, the YA2026 threshold change, and how to keep both sides consistent.
4 min readIndia corridorESOPs for Indian employees of a Singapore company
Options granted by a Singapore parent to staff in India touch FEMA, Indian payroll tax, remittance rules and foreign asset disclosure. Here is each piece.
3 min readIndia corridorPaying dividends from Singapore to India: tax on both sides, and the alternatives
Singapore does not tax dividends on the way out. India taxes them on the way in. Here is what that means for an Indian parent, and the alternatives.
4 min readIndia corridorReverse flip: moving your holding company back to India
Indian start-ups that flipped to Singapore are moving back as Indian listings become attractive. The routes, the 2026 FEMA change, and the questions to answer first.
3 min readBanking, payments & treasury
Bank accounts, GIRO and company cards.
Digital accounts or a traditional bank? Which to open, and for what
Wise, Aspire and Airwallex open fast and handle foreign currency well. DBS, OCBC and UOB do the things a company cannot run without. Most companies need both.
3 min readShould your company take a corporate credit card?
Cards make subscriptions, travel and online spend simple. The question is who carries the liability, and how you control spending with a thin team.
2 min readGIRO explained: the payment arrangement every Singapore company should set up
GIRO lets a government agency or supplier debit your bank account on schedule, with your authority. It turns tax and CPF into instalments you never have to remember.
2 min readFinance operations & controls
Running lean: automation, access control, Corppass, email and OTPs.
Running a Singapore company with a thin team: what to automate, and what never to
A small Singapore entity can run on a few hours a week if the plumbing is right. Automate the routine, keep a human on approvals and judgment, and write the controls down.
3 min readIndia corridorCan you do your Singapore company's accounting from India?
Yes, the law allows it. Whether you should depends on who runs the company, what it claims, and what the evidence will look like to India and to IRAS.
4 min readCorppass explained: what it is, who needs it, and how many users you can have
Corppass is the company's key to IRAS, ACRA, CPF and almost every government portal. Set it up right in week one and you will never think about it again.
3 min readEmail IDs, phone numbers and OTPs: setting up company access that survives staff changes
Banks, utilities, card issuers and government portals send codes to one email and one phone. Tie them to a person and the company is locked out the day that person leaves.
3 min readValuation & transactions
Purchase price allocation, impairment, ESOP and transaction valuations.
When you need a valuation: ESOPs, fundraising, ODI and acquisitions
Valuations are triggered by accounting standards, tax rules, regulators and investors. Here is each trigger, what standard applies, and who may sign.
2 min readIndia corridorWhy your ESOP needs a valuation
Accounting, tax and fairness: why every option grant needs a defensible value, what gets valued, and a worked example with the numbers.
6 min readPurchase price allocation explained
After an acquisition, the price must be split across the assets you bought, including ones never on the seller's balance sheet. Here is how it works and what the auditor will test.
2 min readGoodwill impairment testing, step by step
Goodwill must be tested every year, and other assets when there is a sign of impairment. A clear method makes the audit conversation short.
2 min readFamily offices & grants
Single family offices, 13O and 13U, and government grants.
Single family office basics, and 13O versus 13U
The two Singapore fund tax incentives most family offices use, the conditions MAS updated in July 2026, and who does what.
3 min readGovernment grants for SMEs: EDGE replaces EDG and PSG
Enterprise Singapore merged its main business grants into one. Here is what EDGE covers, how much it pays, and what happened to applications under the old schemes.
2 min readIs a VCC the right vehicle for your family office or fund?
What a variable capital company is, what it requires, when it beats a private company for a family office, and when it is simply more cost.
3 min readRegulatory updates
What changed, when, and which guide explains it.
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