If your company cannot file its annual return on time, you can apply to ACRA for an extension of up to 60 days. It costs $200 per application, the fee is not refundable, and the application has to be submitted before your deadline passes. Not after. Before.
That last point is the whole article, really. The extension of time is not a remedy for lateness. It is a pre-emptive measure, and the Bizfile eService simply stops accepting applications once the deadline is behind you. Once you are late, you are in the penalty regime instead, and the tools available to you are different and less pleasant.
So the question is not “can I get an extension”. It is “do I know, right now, whether I am going to make the deadline”.
Who can apply, and when
Your company can apply for an extension if two things are true. The annual return deadline has not yet passed, and the financial year end in question falls on or after 31 August 2018. Financial year ends before that date sit outside the current scheme.
A company officer applies: a director or the company secretary. You can also have a registered corporate service provider make the application for the company.
ACRA’s own advice is to apply at least 14 working days before the deadline, and that is not conservative padding. It matches the stated processing time. If you apply three days out, you will very likely still be waiting for an answer when the deadline arrives, and an application in progress is not an extension.
Extension for the AGM, the annual return, or both
The same Bizfile eService handles extensions for holding an annual general meeting and for filing the annual return. When you get into the form you select which one you need, or both. Both obligations sit in the Companies Act 1967, and each is capable of being breached on its own.
In practice they usually travel together. The annual return declares your AGM details, so a company that cannot hold its AGM on time generally cannot file its return on time either. If the underlying cause is unfinished accounts, apply for both rather than solving half the problem and discovering the other half a month later.
Our guide to what goes into an annual return sets out why the two are linked, and the annual return deadlines and requirements piece tells you which deadline actually applies to your company.
What it costs and how long it takes
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Application fee | $200 per application |
| Refundable? | No. The fee is not refunded if the application is rejected, withdrawn or appealed |
| Maximum extension | 60 days |
| Processing time | Up to 14 working days, and longer in busy periods or complex cases |
| Where you get the outcome | Emailed to you, with notifications in your Bizfile inbox |
| Can you apply after the deadline? | No. The online application closes at the deadline |
Two things deserve emphasis. First, the $200 is spent the moment you submit, whatever the answer. Second, “up to 14 working days” is a floor, not a ceiling. Peak filing season is peak filing season for ACRA too.
What you need to have ready
The form itself is short. The persuasion is in the attachments. Before you start, gather:
- Your UEN and the financial year end date the extension relates to.
- The reason for the extension, written plainly. “The audit is not finished” is a reason. “Administrative oversight” is not one that reads well.
- A director’s letter requesting the extension and explaining the delay. This is the core document. It should say what happened, what is being done about it, and when the company expects to file.
- A director’s letter explaining any change of auditor between the financial year end and the annual return deadline, if that happened. A mid-year auditor switch is one of the more common genuine causes of delay and ACRA will want it explained.
- Correspondence from your auditor setting out the reason for the delay and estimating when the audit will be completed. An independent estimate carries far more weight than the company’s own assurance.
- Any SGX comments on the application, if the company is listed.
The steps, in order
- Log in to Bizfile as a Business User through Corppass, and confirm the entity shown in the top menu bar is the right company. If Corppass access is itself the obstacle, fix that first: our guide to logging in to Bizfile as a business user covers the route.
- Open Manage, then Apply for extension of time.
- Click Start on the introduction page.
- Verify the company details, then select the extension of time option covering the AGM and annual return obligations.
- State whether the company is listed on the Singapore Exchange, then choose whether you are extending the AGM, the annual return, or both.
- Enter your reason and attach the supporting documents.
- Review, submit and pay the $200 fee. Download the receipt.
- Watch your Bizfile inbox. You should get one notification confirming the application was received, and a second when a decision is made.
Asking for more time after the first extension
You can apply again for a further extension, at the same $200 per application, and on the same condition: the application has to go in before the current deadline expires.
Be realistic about the odds. ACRA is unlikely to grant a further extension unless the supporting reasons are strong, and “we are still not ready” is not strong. A second application works when something concrete and documented has changed: an auditor has withdrawn, a subsidiary’s accounts are caught up in a foreign jurisdiction’s own delay, a key set of records is subject to a dispute. It rarely works when the honest explanation is that the company drifted.
If a further application is refused and you cannot file in time, you are into late filing territory, and the ladder of consequences is set out in our guide to penalties and enforcement for late annual return filing.
What goes wrong in practice
Applying too late. A company works out in the final fortnight that the audit will not land, applies with ten days to go, and the decision arrives after the deadline. The $200 is spent and the company is still late. The entire value of the extension is in applying early.
Assuming the application stops the clock. It does not. Until the extension is granted, your original deadline stands. Plan on the basis that you may be refused.
A thin director’s letter. Three lines saying the company needs more time gives the reviewer nothing to work with. A letter that names the cause, attaches the auditor’s own timeline and commits to a filing date is a materially different document.
Solving the annual return but not the AGM. Two obligations, one application form, and a company that extends only one of them often ends up composing an offence on the other. If the AGM has also slipped, cover both.
Forgetting the extension does not touch IRAS. ACRA’s extension has no effect on your corporate income tax filing obligations. Those run on their own timetable, published at IRAS due dates, and need to be managed separately.
Trying to move the financial year end instead. Changing the FYE is a separate filing with its own restrictions, and it cannot be used after the annual return deadline has passed. If you are weighing that route, read changing your company’s financial year end before you file anything.
Frequently asked questions
How much does an extension of time to file an annual return cost in Singapore?
Each application costs $200. The fee is non-refundable in every case, including where ACRA rejects the application, where you withdraw it, and where you appeal the outcome. A second or further extension application costs another $200.
Can I apply for an extension after my annual return deadline has already passed?
No. The Bizfile application closes once the deadline passes, and there is no online route back in. At that point the position is governed by the late lodgement penalty and enforcement rules rather than by extension. If your circumstances are unusual, ACRA’s corporate compliance team can be contacted by email.
How long an extension will ACRA grant?
Up to 60 days from your existing deadline. ACRA decides whether to grant the full period or a shorter one, based on the reason given and the supporting documents. There is no automatic entitlement, and the application is assessed on its merits.
Do I need my auditor to write a letter?
If the delay is caused by the audit, yes, in practical terms. A letter from your auditor explaining the delay and estimating a completion date is one of the documents ACRA looks for, and an application relying only on the company’s own account of the position is weaker.
Does the extension also cover my annual general meeting?
Only if you ask for it. The same application form covers extensions for holding an AGM and for filing the annual return, and you select which you need. Since a late AGM usually produces a late annual return, most companies should apply for both.
What happens if the extension is refused?
Your original deadline stands, and the $200 is not returned. If you cannot file by that date, the annual return becomes late and a late lodgement penalty is applied automatically when you eventually file. Filing as soon as possible after the deadline keeps that penalty at the lower tier.
The cheaper version of this problem
An extension of time costs $200 and a certain amount of explaining. Closing your accounts a month after year end costs nothing and removes the need for either.
Most extension applications we see trace back to the same root cause: bookkeeping that ran behind for three quarters and a year end that arrived before anyone had reconciled anything. The audit was never the bottleneck. The ledger was.
Raffles Corporate Services works backwards from the statutory deadline rather than forwards from the year end, so the accounts are ready before the AGM window opens and the return is filed without drama. If you are staring at a deadline right now and are not sure whether to apply, tell us the dates and we will tell you honestly whether an extension is worth the $200.
You can reach us through Raffles Corporate Services, or read more on Singapore corporate secretarial practice at Singapore Secretary Services.
— The Editorial Team, Raffles Corporate Services