The government utilises the Singapore Standard Industrial Classification (SSIC) to examine economic activities and population, household, and industrial censuses in Singapore.
The SSIC code, which is based on the fundamental structure and tenets of the International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities, requires corporations to first register (ISIC).
The SSIC code serves only administrative needs and does not subject the registered firm to any additional tax or reporting obligations. However, for taxonomy objectives, such as the assembling, publishing, and evaluating of current economic structures, Singapore government agencies will gather data reported under the SSIC code.
Companies that apply for an SSIC code will also profit from the exercise. They can evaluate whether they require extra business licenses or official permits using their SSIC classification.
ACRA SSIC Code Selection
SSIC codes assist Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) in differentiating the various economic activities carried out by Singaporean businesses. Economic activity is described as a kind of production that uses resources like labour, capital, or services.
Any Singaporean firm may select up to two SSIC codes pertinent to its primary economic activity and any auxiliary activities it engages in. The company is nevertheless permitted to engage in other forms of commerce if it chooses to do so.
The proper SSIC code must be selected, nevertheless, since it may have an impact on the company’s ability to create a corporate bank account and receive any additional licenses.
Here are some recommendations for selecting an SSIC code for your company’s operations:
- Select the codes that are most relevant to your main activity or the ones that provide the majority of your company’s income or profit. Next, the owners or entrepreneurs should be able to list the business’s primary operations, after which comparisons can be made with the main code.
- Choose the SSIC code for the two business activities that bring in the biggest revenue if your organisation engages in more than two of them.
- If none of the SSIC codes applies to your company’s activities, you can provide Bizfile with a thorough description.
- You should conduct some study into your industry to determine whether it qualifies for tax deductions or has any unfavourable rules.
The Significance of SSIC Codes for ACRA
The government must keep track of the types of enterprises operating in the nation to develop policies. Singapore’s Department of Statistics employs SSIC codes for informative purposes as part of administrative databases as well as during household surveys and population counts.
The government can conduct insightful analyses and share data because of the uniformity and comparability of the data, which is made possible by the usage of SSIC codes during research. In addition, ACRA uses SSIC to classify enterprises according to their economic activity.
Limitation of SSIC Code for Singaporean Companies
A business must have a minimum of one SSIC code. However, they can also designate a second one if they so want. Therefore, the maximum number of SSIC codes a business can have is two.
On the Department of Statistics website, you will be able to find the whole set of SSIC codes. In addition, the ACRA website has a few SSIC codes, although the list is not very comprehensive or detailed.
However, the ACRA website does offer a comprehensive list of Singaporean registered businesses, where further details about each company may be discovered.
Selecting the Proper SSIC Code
Choosing the correct SSIC code is crucial since organisations falling under certain of them will not be subject to ACRA’s regulations.
The incorporation of a company may be delayed if the incorrect code is used. For instance, ACRA does not have jurisdiction over some business categories that other governmental agencies and organisations oversee.
It may take up to two months for ACRA to assess and accept an application if it decides that it must be forwarded to these other organisations. Make the appropriate choice of code to prevent this from occurring needlessly.
Bizfile, ACRA’s one-stop online gateway catering to all firms in Singapore, makes it simple and quick to get the right SSIC Code. To get started, go to their free SSIC search tool and complete these steps:
- Step 1 – On the HeySara website, type a keyword or search query into the box.
- Step 2 – The system will generate all SSIC categories that contain the term you supplied. Choose the one that most accurately reflects your primary line of work.
- Step 3 – You might wish to adjust the keywords slightly if the term is not detected or if your search query is not pertinent.
Just a brief reminder: the letters “n.e.c.”, which stands for “not elsewhere classified,” can be found in specific codes that end with the numeral “9”. Business operations that do not fall under the purview of the 5-digit SSIC codes for the same business category are covered by this n.e.c. codes. Only in the absence of any other codes that adequately depict the main company activity can these sorts of codes be chosen.
Guide to SSIC Code Search Techniques
- Enter the essential terms that best describe the commercial activities of your organisation, then run a search.
- For a better outcome, experiment with several keyword variants relating to the industry your company belongs in.
- Based on your keyword input, the search tool ought to provide several SSIC codes. Select the option that most closely corresponds to the operations of your firm.
- Make sure your keywords are the most popular for your business and that they are not misspelt.
- You can do a manual search in the most recent SSIC 2020 report if the SSIC search does not yield the correct SSIC code. The codes are organised into common SSIC categories in this document.
Changing the SSIC Code
An SSIC code may be changed with relative ease. All that must be done is for the company secretary to apply to ACRA for a change in its SSIC code.
Thanks to their excellent customer service, any problem can be resolved with only one call to the ACRA hotline. Only when the firm has completed its incorporation may an SSIC code update be started. The number of times the codes can be altered is not subject to any limitations.
When in doubt, you may always ask for advice from companies offering incorporation services, such as HeySara. These businesses can help you choose the appropriate SSIC codes to avoid delays in the establishment of your company.
The Conclusion
ACRA has created a system known as the Singapore Standard Industrial Classification (SSIC) to make it simpler to categorise Singaporean enterprises by the economic activities they are engaged in.
Every company is given an SSIC code, which has a variety of uses. Every firm that has received a code must abide by the regulations that ACRA has established for the assignment of SSIC codes.
Some of the most important things to keep in mind regarding the SSIC codes used by ACRA and how to handle them are covered in this article.
To ensure there are no delays in your company incorporation and all the paperwork in accurate, you should engage a company incorporation service provider. They know the process well and can guide you throughtout the process. So, contact HeySara to help you incorporate your company in no time.
