Due to the current COVID-19 climate, the Registrar of Companies has exercised their powers under sections of the Companies Act to grant the following extensions of time.
You may view the official press release from ACRA.
15th September 2020 Update: with the recent updated requirement relating to ACRA’s Register of Registrable Controllers (RORC), the Bizfile portal had high traffic and as a result experienced intermittent disruption and maintenance.
As such, a further extension of annual return due dates had been granted for eligible companies whose original due dates fall between 8 September 2020, to 31st October 2020. The extended due date is up until 30th November 2020.
For AGM due between 1 April - 31 July 2020
All companies, listed and non-listed whose AGMs initial due dates falls between 16th April and 31st July 2020 will be granted a 60 days time extension to hold their AGM.
For companies who has previously applied for time extension, that resulted in the due dates stated above will also be granted similar time extension.
Eligible companies need no apply for the extension via ACRA.
Annual Returns (AR) Filing
Likewise, the deadline for AR filing will also be similarly extended by 60 days. In other words, the deadline for Annual Returns filing will be 1 month from the due date for holding AGM.
Examples
| Original Due Date / Extended Due Date previously granted for AGM | New AGM due date | New AR due date |
|---|---|---|
| 16 Apr 2020 to 30 Apr 2020 | 15 Jun 2020 to 29 Jun 2020 | 15 Jul 2020 to 30 Jul 2020 |
| 1 May 2020 to 31 May 2020 | 30 Jun 2020 to 30 Jul 2020 | 31 Jul 2020 to 29 Aug 2020 |
| 1 Jun 2020 to 30 Jun 2020 | 31 Jul 2020 to 29 Aug 2020 | 30 Aug 2020 to 29 Sep 2020 |
| 1 Jul 2020 to 31 Jul 2020 | 30 Aug 2020 to 29 Sep 2020 | 30 Sept 2020 to 30 Oct 2020 |
What does it mean for you?
Essentially this simply extends the due dates for your company’s convening of AGM as well as annual returns filing.
There are no actions required, as the time extension will automatically apply as long as the original due dates fall between 1 April – 30 July 2020.
Accounting for the 2nd extension, companies whose Annual Returns due dates previously falling on 8th September 2020 to 31st October 2020 also have up to 30th November 2020 to file their annual returns without any late filing penalty.
