ACRA (Registry and Regulatory Enhancements) Bill facilitating digital communications and enhancing ACRA regulatory framework passed on 2 July 2024

Key changes

Reasons for the amendments

Strike a balance between corporate transparency and personal data protection

To introduce contact address as the default address that will be shown to the public, instead of the individual’s residential address. Individuals may choose to use their residential address as their contact address. The existing alternate address regime will be abolished.

To facilitate the introduction of contact address:

• individuals’ existing alternate address will be automatically converted and kept in ACRA’s register as their contact address upon commencement of the contact address regime; and
• for individuals without an alternate address, the individual’s residential address as kept in ACRA’s register will be automatically converted and kept in ACRA’s register as their contact address.

Residential address will continue to be required to be filed, except that they will not be made public. This amendment will apply only in respect of documents that are filed with the Registrar on or after the commencement date of the provision as well as the information that will be presented in the registers that are kept by the Registrar.

[Clauses 8, 14, 25, 30, 40, 43, 47, 57, 64, and 75, the Bill]

The amendment strikes a balance between corporate transparency and enhancing personal data protection. The amendment is intended to better cater to concerns with personal data protection.

To enable the Registrar to exclude documents from the documents that the Registrar is required to provide copies of or allow the public to inspect. This amendment will apply only in respect of documents that are filed with the Registrar on or after the commencement date of the provision.

To empower the Minister to specify the documents that the Registrar may exclude from public access.

[Clauses 16, 24, 28, 51, 56, 63, and 69, the Bill]

The amendment addresses circumstances where it does not serve corporate transparency purposes or where it may not be appropriate for the documents to be made available to the public for inspection or purchase. The circumstances include where the document contains commercially sensitive information or sensitive personal information.

To make amendments to empower:

• the Registrar or ACRA to disclose data in accordance with the tiered framework; and
• the Minister to amend the tiered framework to calibrate the disclosure of data in ACRA’s repository to different persons or classes or people.

[Clauses 8 and 11, the Bill]

The amendments enable the Registrar and ACRA to take a differentiated approach in sharing the different types of data collected. 

For example, the framework will exclude residential address from public records for personal data protection purposes, but the residential address may be provided to financial institutions for regulatory purposes such as customer due diligence verifications.

Facilitate digital communications with businesses and other stakeholders

To make amendments so that:

• the Registrar or ACRA may send documents and information, other than summons, by way of sending such documents and information digitally to the digital mailbox in Bizfile;
• recipients may be notified via electronic means on how and when to access information and documents sent by the Registrar or ACRA.

[Clauses 7 and 9, the Bill]

This will allow ACRA to transition from sending of hard copy documents to sending documents and information digitally via a secure digital mailbox in Bizfile. Access to this system will be restricted to authorised individuals using Singpass/Corppass, ensuring the security and privacy of the content of these documents and information.

Any summons sent by the Registrar will continue to be sent via hard copy to the registered address of the entity or the residential address of an individual.

To enable the Registrar to require and collect any information for any purpose of the ACRA Act or an ACRA-administered Act in addition to information relevant to the transaction, by way of the forms in Bizfile. Such information includes email address and mobile number.

[Clause 5(d), the Bill]

This will facilitate government-to-business digital communications.

Improve filing convenience and data accuracy

To empower the Registrar or ACRA to obtain and use information from prescribed public agencies, such that:

• a person will not need to input the data with ACRA during the filing of a transaction and the person will be deemed to have complied with the filing requirement; and
• ACRA may use the information to maintain, rectify, or update ACRA’s repository or registers (e.g. changes in particulars of a director such as full name, residential address, and nationality).

To empower the Minister to specify the prescribed public agencies.

[Clause 8, the Bill]

This will lead to greater convenience to persons and entities by reducing the number of times they are required to provide data to government agencies.

To enable the Registrar or ACRA to obtain any information from a prescribed entity for the purpose of verifying the accuracy of any document or information in ACRA’s repository.

To empower the Minister to specify the prescribed entities.

[Clause 8, the Bill]

The additional powers relating to the use of information from body corporates will improve the accuracy of data in ACRA’s registers.

Enhance the accuracy of the registers of directors

To make it clear that the Registrar is empowered to:

• reflect the disqualification status of individuals disqualified under any section of the Companies Act; and
• use information obtained from the courts for the purpose of exercising the power to reflect the disqualification status of individuals disqualified under any section of the Companies Act in ACRA’s register.

[Clause 39, the Bill]

This clarifies that the Registrar is empowered to indicate the disqualification status of individuals disqualified under any section of the Companies Act in the register.

Streamline the financial reporting requirements for foreign companies registered under the Companies Act

To streamline the financial reporting requirement for foreign companies by requiring foreign companies to lodge with the Registrar different types of financial statements, depending on the circumstances of the foreign company.

[Clause 48, the Bill]

This clarifies the financial reporting requirements for foreign companies and reduces administrative burden on certain foreign companies by allowing them to file the applicable financial statements that they have already prepared.