Criteria to strike off a company
You may wish to close the company for various reasons. One of the options available is to strike off the name of the company from the register.
As a director, you may apply to ACRA to strike off the company's name from the register. ACRA may approve the application if it has reasonable cause to believe that the company is not carrying on business and the company is able to satisfy the following criteria for striking off.
- The company has not commenced business since incorporation or has ceased trading.
- The company has no outstanding debts owed to Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS), Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board and any other government agency.
- There are no outstanding charges in the charge register.
- The company is not involved in any legal proceedings (within or outside Singapore).
- The company is not subject to any ongoing or pending regulatory action or disciplinary proceeding.
- The company has no existing assets and liabilities as at the date of application and no contingent asset and liabilities that may arise in the future.
- All/majority of the director(s) authorise you, as the applicant, to submit the online application for striking off on behalf of the company.
Important : Outstanding Tax Credit
NOTE: Please ensure that there is no outstanding tax credit owing to the company before applying for striking off. When the company is dissolved, any tax credit due to the company will be paid over to the Insolvency and Public Trustee’s Office (IPTO). The shareholders of the defunct company may approach IPTO if they wish to claim the tax credit. Please note that IPTO may impose charges for the processing of the claim. For more information on how to make a claim, please visit IPTO's website.
Application to strike off a company
The company director, the company secretary or the registered filing agent can submit an online application via BizFile+ using SingPass or CorpPass to strike off the company.
There is no filing fee for this transaction.
Review process for striking off
- Once the application is approved, ACRA may send a striking off notice to the company’s registered office address, its officers (such as director, company secretary and shareholder) at their address in our records..
- After 30 days from the approval of the striking off application, if there is no objection, ACRA will publish the name of the company in the Government Gazette. This is known as the First Gazette Notification.
- After 60 days from the First Gazette Notification, if there is no objection, ACRA will publish the name of the company in the Government Gazette again and the name of the company will be struck off the register. The date that the company is struck off will be stated. This is known as the Final Gazette Notification.
The entire process will take at least 4 months.
Lodgment of an Objection Against Striking Off
Any interested person can submit an objection against a striking off application. There is no fee payable for this transaction. If ACRA receives any objection, we will inform the company of the objection. The company is given 2 months to resolve the matter. If the company is unable to resolve the matter within 2 months, the striking off application will lapse. The company can only submit a new application after the objection has been cleared.
Withdrawal of Striking Off Application
A company can apply for withdrawal of its application for striking off via BizFile+.
There is no filing fee for this transaction.
After a Company has been Struck Off
A company can be restored within 6 years after the company's name has been struck off, by a Court Order. The Court Order must be lodged via BizFile+ and the status of the company will be updated to “live”.
There is no filing fee for this transaction.