A Singapore company must keep a registered office at a physical address in Singapore, and it declares its business activities to ACRA as SSIC codes. Changes to either are filed through BizFile+. The address receives official mail, and the codes affect licensing, statistics and how agencies classify the company.
The Companies Act 1967 requires every company to have a registered office in Singapore. The address must be a physical location, not a post office box, and the office must be open and accessible to the public during ordinary business hours. ACRA, IRAS and other agencies send official notices there.
Many small companies use the address of their corporate secretarial firm, and many founders use their own premises. Residential addresses can raise extra requirements, for example for public housing, where approval is needed to run a business from the flat, and for private homes, where lease or management rules may apply.
Take the notice function seriously. A letter from IRAS or ACRA that sits unopened for weeks can mean a missed deadline, so someone must collect mail and scan it to the directors on a fixed routine.
A virtual office arrangement can satisfy the address rule if the provider genuinely receives mail and the office is open during business hours. Read the service contract, because a provider that only forwards mail monthly can leave you with stale notices.
The Singapore Standard Industrial Classification divides economic activity into numbered codes. A company states its primary activity and may add secondary activities when it incorporates. The codes are used for statistics and for deciding whether a licence, a grant or a regulatory regime applies.
Choose the code that describes what the company actually does, not what sounds most attractive. A software company that mostly resells hardware belongs in a different classification from one that develops its own platform, and agencies may ask for evidence if the declared activity and the invoices diverge.
Descriptions in the code list are specific. Read the fine print for the code, because two codes with similar titles can sit in different regulatory groups.
Keep a short internal note on why each code was chosen, including the share of revenue it represents. If an agency asks about your activity two years later, the note shows the reasoning at the time.
Both changes are made through BizFile+ by an authorised filer using CorpPass. Update the address first and then check each agency, because IRAS, CPF Board and MOM keep their own contact records. Notify ACRA within the period it prescribes, which is on its website, and keep the confirmation.
Changing an SSIC code is a company filing, not a rename of the business. If the change brings the company into a licensed activity, obtain the licence before you start trading under the new code.
After either change, review contracts, letterheads, the website footer and invoice templates. A counterparty who sees the wrong address may reject a document, and an old address on a tax invoice can hold up a customer's payment.
Some regulators ask for a copy of the updated ACRA profile when you apply for a licence. Request it after filing the change so the date on the profile matches the date you describe in the application.
Some activities need approval before trading, for example financial advice, money transfer, food retail, education services and healthcare. The registered SSIC code does not give permission to carry out the activity. Check the regulator's requirements first and then register the company.
For GST, the nature of each supply matters more than the code itself. Standard-rated, zero-rated and exempt supplies are decided by the law, and a company with mixed activities may have to apportion input tax. The SSIC code helps IRAS understand the business, but it does not set the GST treatment of an invoice.
Grant schemes and government incentives often refer to SSIC codes when defining eligible sectors. Align the code with the real business before applying, because switching codes after a rejection looks like a workaround.
Foreign exporters should check the activity description used in customs and export documents. A mismatch between the SSIC description and the goods listed on a shipping invoice can prompt questions at the border or from a financing bank.
Mismatches create friction. If the ACRA address differs from the address on the bank mandate, the lease and the invoice, the bank or a counterparty will ask which is correct. If the SSIC code describes software but the invoices describe consulting, a reviewer may question which tax treatment you have applied.
Keep one master record of the legal name, UEN, registered address, SSIC codes and GST number, and copy from it into every template. Review the record whenever you file a change with ACRA, and date the revisions.
Archive the ACRA business profile each year. It shows the status of officers, address and activities at a given date, which is useful evidence during a bank review, a due diligence exercise or a dispute.
During a financing round or a sale of the business, buyers read the register against the contracts. A tidy set of consistent details shortens the due diligence timetable and reduces the number of clarification letters.
4softerp.net holds company profiles for several entities in one financial ERP, and 4invoices.net issues PDF invoices and keeps them in an archive. You can keep your legal details and template wording consistent in your own records.
Neither product reads the ACRA register, files changes in BizFile+ or updates documents from it. Each change in address or activity must be filed with ACRA and then copied into your records manually.
After an address change or SSIC code amendment via BizFile+, existing invoice and contract templates still carry the old details — creating a mismatch that counterparties and IRAS both flag.
File the address or SSIC change in BizFile+ first, then update your invoice and contract templates by hand. The 4b2b products do not read the ACRA register or update documents from it.
Different SSIC-coded activities attract different GST treatments; maintaining consistent per-activity rules across dozens of invoice templates is error-prone as the business scales.
Check with IRAS or your adviser how each SSIC-coded activity is treated for GST and set the rate yourself on each invoice line. 4invoices does not derive GST treatment from SSIC codes.
Often yes, but conditions apply. The address must be a real physical location where the company can receive notices during business hours. Public housing flats require approval for business use, and private residences may be restricted by lease or management rules. Many founders use a corporate secretarial firm's address instead.
It is the Singapore Standard Industrial Classification code that describes a business activity. A company states a primary activity and may list secondary ones when registering with ACRA. The codes support statistics, licensing checks and incentive eligibility. Choose the code that matches the work the company really does, and review it when the business model changes.
An authorised filer logs in to BizFile+ with CorpPass and submits the change to ACRA within the prescribed time. After that, update IRAS, CPF Board and MOM where required, and amend your contracts, letterheads and invoice templates. Keep the ACRA confirmation with your records, and check that the new address appears correctly in the register before you reprint anything.
No. GST depends on the nature of each supply under the law, such as standard-rated, zero-rated or exempt. The SSIC code helps agencies understand your business but does not set the tax rate on an invoice. A company with mixed activities may have to apportion input tax between taxable and exempt supplies.
Yes, through BizFile+. Before you add an activity, check whether it needs a licence or approval from another regulator, because the code alone gives no permission to trade. Update contracts and marketing materials so the described activity matches the registered one, and tell your bank if the new activity changes your expected transaction pattern.
Keep your company profile in your own ERP records. ACRA changes are filed in BizFile+.
