When is the annual return due?

For a non-listed company, within 7 months after the financial year end. A 31 December year end means the annual return is due by 31 July, filed on ACRA's BizFile portal.

Can a private company skip the AGM?

Yes — a private company is exempt from holding an AGM if it sends its financial statements to all members within 5 months after the financial year end (members can still demand a meeting). Many small companies also dispense with AGMs entirely by members' resolution.

Do I file my financial statements with ACRA?

A solvent exempt private company (20 or fewer shareholders, no corporate shareholder) does not file financial statements with the annual return — it makes an online solvency declaration instead. Insolvent EPCs and non-EPCs file financial statements in simplified XBRL.

AGM and annual return deadlines for Singapore private companies (the 5-6-7 rule)

ACRA's whole annual cycle for a private company fits in three numbers — 5, 6, 7 — counted from your financial year end (FYE):

Months after FYE	Obligation	31 Dec FYE example
5	Send financial statements to all members (this also exempts you from the AGM)	31 May
6	Hold the AGM — if you still need one	30 June
7	File the annual return on BizFile	31 July

The AGM exemption (how most small companies run)

A private company that sends its financial statements to all members within 5 months of FYE is exempt from holding that year's AGM. You trade the meeting for an earlier paperwork deadline — which is why your statements should be ready around month four, not month six. For a one-director, one-shareholder company this is the obvious route: prepare the statements, "send" them to yourself, minute it, done.

What actually gets filed

The annual return itself is a short online filing — company particulars, share details, FYE. Whether financial statements attach depends on status: a solvent exempt private company (≤20 shareholders, none corporate) just declares solvency online; insolvent EPCs and non-EPCs attach the statements in simplified XBRL. Either way the statements must exist, signed — see our unaudited financial statements guide.

Miss the deadlines and ACRA's late-lodgement penalties stack per filing — S$300 to S$600 a time, and repeat offenders invite director disqualification. The fix is boring: have the statements done early.

Statements by month four, automatically: Bookly turns the year's bank statements and receipts into signed-ready unaudited financial statements — the document your 5-month deadline needs. Start free.

Timelines for non-listed companies per ACRA as at June 2026. General information, not legal advice — your corporate secretary handles the BizFile filings.