ACAP & ASK Initiatives Encourage Voluntary Compliance of GST Singapore

There was a lot of resentment among the business community of Singapore when the government decided to introduce the goods and services tax Singapore. The general view was that of skepticism and pessimism towards the impact that GST Singapore would have on businesses. However, the progressive regime of Singapore ensured that the GST rate was one of the lowest in the world at 8%. Additionally, it introduced certain schemes which allow businesses to alleviate their burden of goods and service tax Singapore.

Nevertheless, in order to gain access to such GST waiver schemes, companies must first comply with IRAS with regards to the GST filing purposes. Basically, there are two initiatives aimed at providing thorough assistance to the companies for voluntarily complying with GST Singapore tax, they are:
 

Assisted Compliance Assurance Programme (ACAP)

The ACAP assistance program was launched by the Singapore government on April 5, 2011. This was introduced with the aim of encouraging the GST-registered companies to voluntarily comply with IRAS. By participating in the ACAP assistance initiative, companies can avail the following features & benefits:

• Provides a holistic framework for companies to manage their GST Singapore tax risks.
• Complete exemption from the costly & time-consuming GST audits.
• Faster GST refunds
• Quicker resolution to the various issues pertaining to the GST Singapore tax.
• Automatic renewal of GST schemes.
• Facilitates accurate GST reporting for a 1 year period along with the efficacy of GST controls.
• Tax risk identification
• Pertinent preventive & corrective measures vis a vis GST.

Assisted Self-Help Kit (ASK)

The main purpose of ASK initiative is to assist all GST-registered companies in the proper reviewing of correctness associated with the GST submission and identification of the past GST errors if any. The advantages of adopting the ASK program can be enlisted below:

• A thorough check on the internal processes in order to properly handle GST reporting of transactions.
• Ensuring the accurate GST filing returns by performing pre-filing checks.
• A comprehensive annual review of the previous financial year’s GST returns
• Assistance in the fulfillment of key requirements to become GST compliant.
• Guidance & assurance on the correctness on the present and past GST submissions.

The above mentioned assistance schemes are testimonial to the progressive nature of Singapore taxation which ensures that the entire business community of the nation not just complies with the IRAS but also benefits in the process.

If you have any queries regarding the taxation Singapore matters or if you are willing to avail our GST Singapore tax services, then kindly contact us at: +65-6536 0036 or mail us on info@taxationservices.com.sg