Director Nominee Service

Using Nominee Director Services for Your Singaporean Firm

You would have to fulfil certain perquisites if wish to start up a business in Singapore. People from all around the world flock to this island nation to start up a new business because of how it is strategically placed on the global map. Trade and business have been growing ever since Singapore started establishing itself as an economic hub in the world trade. To be able to successfully launch your business in Singapore you would require the services of a nominee director.

The nominee director would have to be a resident of Singapore as per the law of the nation. In case you do not have one you would need to avail the services of a company providing nominee director services. Without this service, you would not be able to start up your business or company registration  a company with the Singaporean government.

Some companies offer the services of a nominee director which you can make use of. These companies often have a list of things that you would have to fulfill to avail of their services in Singapore. Sometimes you would require to avail of a package service to ensure that the company benefits as well by using their services for appointing a director.

Basic requirements that you may have to fulfill to avail nominee director services

Some companies which offer the nominee director services require you to deposit a security fee. This fee would be refundable once you choose to terminate their services and choose to appoint a director on your own for your business. This fee can be anywhere around $2,000 depending on the company that you choose to hire.

They would also do a verification that goes along with the package of availing their service in Singapore. CorpPass which is also otherwise known as VerifiedID@SG is issued by the Singaporean government which enables you to be able to use online services for the transaction. This is an identity issued by the government which is also digital.

SingPass verification is compulsory for all .com.sg and .sg domains which are registered. This was made mandatory on the 2^nd of May in the year 2013 and this is required by VerifiedID@SG. Companies offering the services of a nominee director require you to use their affiliate services to purchase the com.sg or .sg domain names.

The security fees are only applicable to companies that pass the requirements set by the company which offers the services of a nominee director. There would be a search carried out to determine the standing of the company which is often done free of cost. As you being the business owner you are required to satisfy the KYC  prerequisites set by the firm offering the services of the nominee director.

Who cannot qualify for nominee director services?

In case you are born in a country that comes under the sanctioned list of countries of the US these companies may not offer their services for you or your concern. The termination of nominee director services would be imminent in case you fail to disclose that you are a person from one such country. You would also stand to lose your security deposit you made with the firm for nominee director services. Further action including legal action may be taken by these firms apart from closing down the company that you are trying to form in Singapore.

Why these firms charge a security deposit to avail nominee director services?

According to Singaporean law, a company would require at least one of its directors to belong to Singapore. This applies to anyone who wishes to have a private limited company (PLCs) established in Singapore. Each of the directors belonging to the company is will need to clear the charges for company liquidation. This is if the foreign client cannot be reached for different reasons. This explains the reason the firms charge a security deposit from you or your organization.

As long as you or your company chooses to avail the nominee director services the firm would keep the security deposit with them. If you already have a person who is a resident of Singapore then you may not require the services of a nominee director.

You can qualify to become a local director if you can provide with the below details:

• Local residential address to be provided
• Prove that you are a long-staying in Singapore
• Be a Singapore citizen, hold an employment pass, permanent resident, dependant’s pass holder, or an Entre pass-holder

There may also be other things which need to be considered too and it depends on the details provided by the nominee director.

Perquisites to be followed to avail nominee director services from different firms

Certain requirements are commonly set by firms offering you or your business with nominee director services. These things are listed below for you to have a look at before you choose to avail of their services. While these things are common for most companies that offer the services of nominee director there can always be exemptions with certain firms.

• Nominee director would not be included in the operations or financial affairs of the organization and just stay statutory for compliance only
• You would have to appoint other directors to assign the responsibilty of financial affairs as well as operations
• KYC necessities would have to be met which is initial and can be ongoing as well
• Subscription of annual secretarial services from the firm
• Nominee director indemnity agreement would require to be executed
• Subscription of annual accounting services from the firm
• In case your company is GST registered you should use the services of the firm for GST filing and review
• Subscription of annual tax filing services from the firm
• Subscription to the firm’s registered address
• If you choose to hire staff from Singapore you should avail the services of immigration, HR, and payroll from the firm
• The address for correspondence with the banks must be changed to the firm’s address. This enables them to receive monthly bank statements and other transaction documents. It is said to be mandatory for them to be able to check with the compliance of the laws of the land
• If you use the firm for the services of a nominee director, you would also have to intimate and seek approval from them before you choose to open a bank account overseas.

Any person or company that can fulfill these requirements can be entitled to avail the nominee director services from reputed firms. Some companies may have additional requirements that solely depend on the respective company. However, these are the general necessities that most companies would seek from you or your organization before they are ready to provide you with the services of a nominee director.

Things to keep in mind before availing nominee director services

There are a set of things that you would have to keep in mind before you choose to use the nominee director services from an organization. You would have to understand that the nominee director would not be a signatory authority for banking transactions. They would not take any active part in establishing or running your organization at any level.

The nominee director would not be liable to sign any legal documents or contracts for any purposes that you or your business may have. Nominee director would just remain in the list of directors for compliance-related issues with the Singaporean law. Furthermore, you or your company would have to take total responsibility for running the business, managing finances, and marketing for your business.

Choosing the best firms for nominee director services

It is important for you as an individual, a business owner or a firm to ensure that you avail the nominee director services from a reputed firm in Singapore. Although many companies offer the services of a nominee director there are only a few in the market who are reputable and trustworthy.

Choosing a company offering the services of a nominee director can be made simple with the use of the internet. Searching for the top companies which offer these services would provide you with a list of companies that are ranked at the top. With this list, you can go forward in researching the fees, services offered, perquisites and other standard requirements before choosing to hire them.

This way you would be able to ensure that you are only using a top firm to avail the services of a nominee director in Singapore. You can choose to terminate the services as and when you please. However, most business owners choose to use these services at least for the first year of establishing their business. Once the cross the 1^st year they choose to involve a resident to be the nominee director for the organization that they run.