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🇸🇬 Registry9 Dec 2024

Singapore's new Bizfile portal launches, exposes full NRIC numbers and brings a filing-penalty waiver

ACRA launched its new Bizfile portal on 9 December 2024, adding a contact address requirement and other data-quality features. Its People Search showed full NRIC numbers until 13 December, when ACRA disabled it and apologised. Filing problems on the new portal led ACRA to waive late-filing penalties for filings due from 9 December 2024 to 28 February 2025, which could be made up to 15 March 2025.

The Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) moved all registry filings to a new Bizfile portal on 9 December 2024, after a system migration from 4 to 9 December.

What changed
  • The portal brought a new design, integrated access to filings, business information products and APIs, and new data-quality checks.
  • A new contact address requirement lets office holders give an address other than their residential address for public display.
The NRIC disclosure
  • The new People Search showed individuals' full NRIC numbers in search results, where the old portal had shown masked numbers. After public concern, ACRA disabled the function on 13 December 2024 and apologised.
  • A Second Minister for Finance statement to Parliament followed on 8 January 2025. On 3 March 2025 the Ministry of Finance and ACRA accepted a review panel's findings and set out steps on internal communication, security reviews and vendor oversight.
Filing relief

Because of problems filing on the new portal, ACRA waived late-filing penalties. Annual returns and ad hoc filings due between 9 December 2024 and 28 February 2025 could be filed up to 15 March 2025 without penalty. For share transactions, the transaction date in the records stays the date of the lodgement.

Who is affected

All Singapore companies, LLPs and their directors, shareholders and corporate service providers.

Sources