No penalties for late filings till March 15 as Acra rectifies e-biz portal issues

Authority says most functions on Bizfile platform now operating as intended

- Osmond Chia

The Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (Acra) will waive penalties for the late filing of annual returns till March 15, while it resolves e-service issues on its revamped business portal Bizfile. This deadline extension is Acra's third since Dec 21.

Business owners, lawyers and corporate services providers have faced issues using Bizfile since its revamp on Dec 9. These include delays in registering new firms and updating details of key appointment holders or company information. There have also been inaccuracies in the business data displayed on Bizfile, including incomplete or missing names.

Acknowledging the problems, Acra told The Straits Times on Feb 15 that it has been working closely with its technology vendor to rectify these issues since December.

"Most of the functions on Bizfile, including registration of businesses and annual return filings, are now operating as intended," Acra said.

Some users may still face intermittent issues during certain transactions, which will take more time to resolve, it said.

Regarding inaccuracies, Acra added: "We have been working with our users to resolve these, and we apologise for the inconvenience caused."

It urged users who need to file time-sensitive and critical transactions to call its helpdesk.