The Government of Singapore published Country-by-Country Reporting in the Singapore Government Gazette the “Income Tax Regulations 2018” on 5 February under the Income Tax Act (ITA).
Country-by-Country reporting application and obligations:
The CbCR Regulations are applicable for any accounting period beginning on or after 1 January 2017, and stipulate that Singapore-resident ultimate parent entities (UPEs) of the following two types of Multinational Enterprise (MNE) groups are required to submit a Country-by-Country (CbC) report to the Comptroller (or an authorized person):
Type A Group: An MNE group with consolidated revenues of at least S$1.125m (US$850m) and has two or more entities that are tax residents in different countries
Type B Group: An MNE group with consolidated revenues of at least S$1.125m and has a single entity that is tax resident in one country, but is also subject to income tax for its business carried out through a permanent establishment in another country
The CbC report must be submitted no later than 12 months after the end of the accounting period, or a later time as the Comptroller may permit. In addition, the UPE must keep and retain all records that it uses to prepare a CbC report for a period of five years after the end of the accounting period. The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) accepts voluntary filing for financial year (FY) 2016. Singapore MNE groups that are subject to CbCR requirements in foreign jurisdictions in FY 2016 can voluntarily file their CbC reports in Singapore even though the CbCR requirements in Singapore are only effective for the FY beginning on or after 1 January 2017.
The following penalties can be imposed for the non-compliance:
- A S$1,000 (US$760) penalty is imposed on the failure to file the CbC report by the due date or to retain all records used to prepare a CbC report for a period of five years. If the penalty is not paid, the responsible person may be imprisoned for up to six months. An additional penalty of up to S$50 (US$38) per day may also be imposed for every day during which the failure continues after conviction.
- A penalty of up to S$10,000 (US$7,600) applies to the filing of false or misleading CbCR information. The responsible person may also be imprisoned for up to two years.
