Company Incorporation Singapore: Register a General Partnership

The Partnership Act of Singapore, Chapter 391, allows two or more qualified individuals to come together and initiate the company incorporation Singapore process to form a partnership. The basic purpose of forming a general partnership firm is to trade, earn the profit, and share it among the partners. A typical partnership has 2 - 20 individual as its owners. The individual entrepreneurs, as well as corporate entities, can be a part of the partnership. Technically, a partnership is not a company, rather it is considered as a business firm.

What is Singapore General Partnership?

A Singapore general partnership is a business entity or firm where two or more partners start and carry a business with an objective of earning the profit and sharing it between them. To a greater extent, it has similarities with sole-proprietorship firms. The only difference lies in the number of ownership. While the general partnership is owned by two or more owners, as the name suggests, sole-proprietorship has only one owner.    

Overview of General Partnership

When you think of company incorporation Singapore in the form of general partnership, it is important to note that, a partnership is not a separate legal entity from its owners. It cannot buy or sell real estate in its own name. It cannot sue or be sued by other entities in its own name. The losses, debts, and the liabilities that accrue during the course of its business activities are the responsibilities of its owners. This puts the personal assets of the partners at risk, which the law can use if it comes to that, to pay off the debts. And the profits are taxed as personal income tax applicable to the owners.

Registration of a Singapore General Partnership

Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) governs all the business entities registered in Singapore. The agency also acts as the Company Registrar.

Apply to ACRA

The first step, obviously, is to apply to ACRA, reserve and seek the approval for the name of the partnership.

BizFile+ Online Portal

Next step is to register the partnership on BizFile+, an online portal made available by the ACRA. If none of the partners is a local resident of Singapore, you must take the assistance of professionalSingapore incorporation services or firms.

SingPass

Local Owners: The online registration process needs SingPass ID. The Singapore citizens and the permanent residents, Employment pass, and Dependant’s pass holders, if they are forming a partnership, can use their SingPass.

Foreign Owners: If all of the partners are foreigners, they need to take the assistance of a business incorporation firm like SBS Consulting to register their general partnership firm. The firm will use its own Professional Number (identification for service providers) to carry out the registration formalities. They also need to appoint a competent local manager above 18 years of age.

Details and the Documents Required

The partners must furnish following documents at the time of registering their general partnership.

• The name of the proposed partnership
  
• Details of the partners (foreign passport)
  
• Residential address proofs of the partners
  
• Details of the managers (Singapore ID)
  
• Residential address proofs of the managers
  
• A letter of consent to act as a Manager
  
• Registration details of the company that wants to act as a partner
  
• Singaporean citizens and the permanent residents must top-up their Medisave account
  
• Declaration of compliance
  

Upon the successful registration of the partnership, the Company Registrar sends a confirmation email to the applicant. A PDF copy of the business profile of the partnership is made available for the download by the ACRA for a small fee.

Taxation for the Partnership

• Income of a partnership is considered as the income of the partners. Therefore, the partners are taxed and not their partnership firm.
  

• The individual partners need to pay tax on their income from the partnership using personal income tax rates.
  

• The corporate partners need to pay tax on their income from the partnership using corporate income tax rates.
  

Compliance Requirement for the General Partnership

While trading in Singapore market, a partnership must,

• Print its name and registration number on all of its invoices and official correspondence.
  
• Record its financial business transactions regularly and update its accounts. It must also store these records for 5 consecutive years.
  
• File income tax returns. However, a partnership is not an incorporated entity. It does not pay any taxes.
  
• Apply to ACRA and renew its registration annually.
  
• Inform ACRA of any changes to the registered details.
  

Advantages of Registering General Partnership

• The process company incorporation Singapore of a general partnership is quick and easy. It can be set up within 15 minutes.
  
• Administration and management systems are easy and fuss-free.
  
• Owners have full control over the business and assets.
  
• Singapore company registration cost for general partnership is substantially low.
  
• The burden of compliance requirements is very less.
  
• The firm will exist as long as partners agree and live.
  

Registering a partnership is the simplest form of Singapore company registration. It is a speedy process. Its partners have to accept both, the rewards and the risks that are associated with it. Many individuals accept those willingly, as it is the cost of being their own masters.