New applications and pending approvals
Open the corporate-tax certificate-of-residence service. Preparers can create a new application and see applications already forwarded for approval. Approvers can retrieve those pending records, start a new application or delete a record. The guide deletes records more than 21 days after the last update. If the COR template changed after preparation, an expired-draft prompt requires the approver to restart with a new application.
Use the income calendar year, not the assessment year
For a company, the available calendar years depend on incorporation and the effective date of the relevant double-taxation agreement or limited treaty. The year to enter is the calendar year in which the foreign income was received, not its Year of Assessment. In the guide’s illustration, incorporation in 2019 restricts the starting year to 2019 even if the treaty became effective in 2018; income received in 2020 is entered as calendar year 2020.
Company review and submission
Complete the main form, proceed to confirmation and check the entries. Fill in the declaration and applicant/contact details. Amend errors before submission. Approvers submit to IRAS, while preparers forward to an approver; the confirmation dialogue completes the chosen step. Save or print the confirmation and acknowledgement as required.
VCC and umbrella-VCC applications
A non-umbrella VCC applies for itself. An umbrella VCC can select applications for the VCC and its sub-funds. The VCC’s calendar-year options follow its incorporation date and the treaty’s effective date, and again refer to the year income was received. For a sub-fund, enter its tax reference so the portal can populate its name, then complete its required particulars.
Sub-fund year limits and batch size
A sub-fund’s available years depend on when its relationship with the umbrella VCC began and when the treaty became effective. The guide’s example starts at 2020 when that relationship began in 2020, notwithstanding an earlier treaty date. Select the actual income-receipt year. No more than five sub-funds are included in one application in this edition; repeat the application process for additional sub-funds.
Acknowledgements and the historical edition
For both company and VCC routes, an acknowledgement number is generated only after successful submission to IRAS. A preparer’s handoff awaiting an approver has no such number. Keep the relevant record and ensure pending applications are actually submitted. This 19-page edition was published on 15 December 2021; its screen sequence and retention limits are reported as that edition’s instructions.
Official source
This article independently explains the substantive contents of the official PDF, including the relevant conditions, procedures and annexes. The linked document remains the authoritative source for its original wording, and later changes should be checked separately.
Read the official PDF ↗