New requirement to lodge Registrable Controllers’ information with ACRA

23 July 2020

The Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (“ACRA”) has announced on its website the implementation of a central register of controllers (“Central Register”).

With effect from 30 July 2020, all companies, foreign companies and limited liability partnerships (“LLPs”), unless exempted, are required to lodge with ACRA the same information that they presently continue to maintain in their Register of Registrable Controllers (“RORC”). ACRA will issue a practice direction on this requirement on the same day.

Timeline to lodge RORC information with ACRA

All companies, foreign companies and LLPs, unless exempted, are required to file the information in their existing RORC with ACRA’s Central Register, within 30 days from 30 July 2020.

However, as Singapore has just exited the circuit breaker and to assist business entities ease into the resumption of normal business activities, ACRA will allow entities to file their RORC information with ACRA by 29 September 2020.

RORC information on Central Register only available to law enforcement agencies

The RORC information in ACRA’s Central Register will only be made available to law enforcement agencies for the purpose of administering or enforcing the laws under their purview, e.g. investigation of money laundering offences. Members of the public will not have access to the RORC information in ACRA’s Central Register.

Reference materials

The following materials are available from the ACRA website www.acra.gov.sg:

• ACRA webpage: Register of Registrable Controllers (RORC)
  
• EACRA document: Entities exempted from maintaining RORC
  
• FAQs: Lodging RORC information with ACRA with effect from 30 July 2020
  
• FAQs: Setting up and maintaining a Register of Registrable Controllers (RORC)