IRAS Court Summons for Unfiled Corporate Tax Returns: What Company Directors Face

Short answer: An IRAS court summons for an unfiled Form C-S or Form C is a criminal charge, usually against the company, under section 94A of the Income Tax Act 1947. You can normally avoid attending court by filing the overdue return and paying the composition amount before the notice deadline. Directors who ignore a section 65B(3) notice face personal prosecution.

An IRAS court summons usually arrives after several unread letters: the Corporate Income Tax Return was not filed by 30 November, the estimated assessment was ignored, and the offer to compound lapsed. This guide explains what an IRAS court summons for unfiled corporate tax returns means, what the Income Tax Act 1947 (the ITA) says, how to clear the notice before the hearing, and what company directors personally face.

Raffles Corporate Services works with a panel of experienced Singapore law firms who offer cost-effective and efficient legal service and advice. This article is general information only and is not legal advice.

What is an IRAS court summons for unfiled tax returns?

It is a written notice requiring the company, and sometimes its directors, to appear in court on a set date to answer a charge of failing to file a tax return. It is a criminal prosecution, not a civil debt claim.

The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) treats late or non-filing of the Corporate Income Tax Return as an offence. Its published guidance on late filing lists four actions it may take when a company misses the 30 November deadline:

1. An estimated Notice of Assessment (NOA), based on past income or other information, which may assume an increase in income.
2. An offer to compound the offence by paying a composition amount.
3. A notice under section 65B(3) of the ITA asking a director to provide the information that should have been in the return.
4. A Notice to Attend Court or summons issued to the company or to the persons responsible for running it, including the directors.

The numbers are not small. In a media release of 19 October 2026, IRAS said that more than 90% of companies filed on time for YA 2025, but that since January 2026 it had issued more than 4,100 Notices to Attend Court to companies that had not filed for YA 2025 and prior years, with more than S$2 million in penalties collected. In September 2024, IRAS reported that over 4,700 companies were prosecuted for late or non-filing in 2023, and that 1,690 court summonses were issued to directors who did not comply with information notices that year.

Which sections of the Income Tax Act 1947 apply?

The filing duty sits in sections 62 and 63, the offences in sections 63(2), 94A and 65C, and the court procedure in sections 101, 102A and 105. Because this is a criminal prosecution, section 102A applies the Criminal Procedure Code 2010 to the hearing; the Rules of Court 2021, which govern civil claims, are not the relevant procedure.

Who receives the summons, and when is it issued?

IRAS issues it to the company, its directors, or both, when the return or documents are still outstanding, or the composition amount is unpaid, after the due date in the earlier notice. The company is the person required to file, so it is normally the party charged; directors are drawn in through the section 65B(3) notice and the duty to attend court.

Each step carries its own date. A section 65B(3) notice must be answered within 21 days of service, or any other period IRAS sets. The composition offer and the court notice each state a deadline. Under section 94A(4), a company cannot be prosecuted for ignoring a written notice (as opposed to the Gazette notice) unless it was served personally or by registered post, and section 65C(9) has the same rule for a director’s information notice. A correct registered office and director address on record therefore matters.

The duty applies to dormant companies too. IRAS states that a dormant company must still e-File the Form for Dormant Company unless it has been granted a waiver. Our dormant company guide explains the waiver.

What does a company director personally face?

A director faces personal prosecution if he or she ignores a section 65B(3) notice, and a possible arrest warrant if the court notice is ignored. The company’s own filing offence carries a fine on the company, not on the director.

• Section 65B(3) notice: the director must provide the requested information by the date in the notice. Failure without reasonable excuse is an offence under section 65C, punishable by a fine of up to S$10,000, imprisonment of up to 12 months, or both, and a further fine of up to S$100 a day if the offence continues after conviction. IRAS states the penalty applies for each offence.
• Court attendance: IRAS warns that failure to attend court may lead to further legal action, potentially including a warrant of arrest against the company director.

IRAS’s 19 October 2026 release reminded directors that they are responsible for accurate and on-time filing of their companies’ returns.

How do you deal with an IRAS court summons step by step?

File the outstanding return with financial statements and tax computation, pay the composition amount, and do both before the deadline on the notice. If you cannot meet that deadline, a representative must attend court on the date to ask for more time.

1. Read the notice. Note the court date, the years of assessment, the payment slip number and whether any director is named personally.
2. Check access. Filing and payment run through myTax Portal, which needs Corppass authorisation. Fix this first if the person who held access has left.
3. Prepare the missing financial statements and the tax computation for each year of assessment. If no accounts exist, this is the longest task.
4. File the Form C-S, Form C-S (Lite) or Form C through myTax Portal with the required documents.
5. Pay the composition amount, quoting the payment slip number. IRAS does not accept GIRO for composition payments and processes payments within 3 working days. Check “View Account Summary” to confirm the credit.
6. Answer any section 65B(3) notice addressed to a director by its own deadline.
7. If anything will not be complete by the deadline, send the company representative (who may be a director) to court on the date with a Letter of Authorisation to ask for a postponement.
8. Pay or object to the estimated NOA separately. Filing the return does not cancel tax already assessed.

Once a Notice to Attend Court or summons has been issued, IRAS does not allow a filing extension. The representative or director must ask the court for more time on the hearing date. For past years of assessment, IRAS states that no filing extensions are granted because the returns are long overdue.

What documents do you need?

You need the complete return package for each year in the notice, proof of payment, and an authority for whoever attends court.

What does an IRAS court summons cost, and how long does it take?

The statutory maximums are set out below; the actual composition amount depends on the company’s compliance record. The largest real cost is often the accounting work needed to produce missing accounts.

The double-tax penalty can be large. In a factsheet dated 26 September 2025, IRAS described a construction company convicted under section 94A(3) for not filing its YA 2019 and YA 2020 returns. The court ordered a penalty of S$187,665, double the tax assessed, plus a fine of S$2,500. IRAS said delays in preparing accounts were not valid grounds for non-compliance.

Timing depends mainly on the state of the books. A company with no records for one or more years should start at once, because the date in the notice does not move unless the court allows it. Our free tools can help you map your filing deadlines.

What does the CSP prepare, and when do you need a lawyer?

A corporate service provider (CSP) such as Raffles Corporate Services can prepare the accounts, tax computation and return, and file them as the appointed tax agent. Any court proceedings in which the company or a director is legally represented are conducted by a Singapore Advocate and Solicitor.

You should speak to a lawyer if the company wants to dispute the charge, if a director is named personally, if several years are outstanding and the double-tax penalty is in play, or if a warrant of arrest has been issued. Raffles Corporate Services does not give legal advice or appear in court; where legal input is needed, we work with our panel of law firms.

If an earlier return contains errors, read our guide to the IRAS Voluntary Disclosure Programme before filing.

What happens after the court date?

If the company has filed and paid before the date, it normally avoids attending. If it is convicted, it pays the fine and must still file, failing which IRAS may take further legal action.

• Conviction does not end the duty to file. A later conviction for the same year of assessment exposes the company to the further S$100 daily penalty.
• The estimated tax remains payable. If the objection is accepted after the return, accounts and tax computation are filed, IRAS refunds any excess. Our note on revising or objecting to an assessment explains the digital process.
• Under section 102A(7), IRAS may cancel a Notice to Attend Court before the hearing date.
• There is no ACRA lodgement for an IRAS prosecution. The same missing accounts often mean the AGM and annual return are late too; our sister site Singapore Secretary Services covers the ACRA side.

To appeal for a waiver of the composition amount, the outstanding returns and documents must have been filed before the due date in the composition offer, and the company must have filed on time for the past 2 years. Appeals go through the Appeal Penalty Waiver digital service in myTax Portal.

What are the common mistakes?

Most prosecutions follow from missed post and from treating payment as the end of the matter.

• Paying the composition amount but not filing. IRAS states it may still take legal action, and the payment is used to settle any unpaid tax.
• Paying the estimated NOA and assuming the return is no longer needed.
• Objecting to an estimated assessment without attaching the return, financial statements and tax computation. IRAS will not revise it.
• Letting a director’s address or the registered office go out of date, so notices are missed.
• Forgetting the ECI. An unfiled ECI leads to an estimated NOA payable in full within 1 month, with no instalments. Our ECI guide explains the waiver for companies with revenue of S$5 million or less and nil ECI.

For the annual cycle that prevents all of this, see our corporate tax filing guide for 2026.

Frequently asked questions

Does a director have to go to court for an unfiled company tax return?

Not if the company files the outstanding return and pays the composition amount before the deadline in the notice. If it cannot, a company representative, who may be the director, must attend on the court date with a Letter of Authorisation. Failure to attend may lead to a warrant of arrest against the director.

Can a director go to jail because the company did not file its tax return?

The company’s filing offence carries a fine, with imprisonment only in default of payment. A director who personally fails to comply with a section 65B(3) notice faces a fine of up to S$10,000, imprisonment of up to 12 months, or both, for each offence.

Is not filing the ECI also an offence?

Yes. Section 63(2) of the ITA makes it an offence to fail to file a required ECI without reasonable excuse. In practice, IRAS’s published response is an estimated NOA that must be paid in full within 1 month, with no instalments.

Will paying the composition amount close the case?

Only if the overdue return and documents are also filed by the specified date. Payment alone does not stop prosecution.

Last reviewed: 26 October 2026. The Editorial Team, Raffles Corporate Services.