Statute Details
- Title: Income Tax (International Tax Compliance Agreements) (Country-By-Country Reporting) Regulations 2018
- Act Code: ITA1947-S75-2018
- Legislation Type: Subsidiary Legislation (SL)
- Authorising Act: Income Tax Act (Cap. 134), specifically powers conferred by section 105P
- Citation: SL 75/2018
- Commencement: 5 February 2018
- Status: Current version (as at 27 March 2026)
- Key Regulations: Regulation 1 (Citation and commencement); Regulation 2 (Definitions); Regulation 3 (Application); Regulation 4 (Obligation of ultimate parent entity); Regulation 5 (Designation of constituent entity)
- Related Concepts/References: “country-by-country report” in section 105I of the Income Tax Act; offences in section 105M; authorised persons under section 105L; consolidated financial statements standards including FRS 110 and SFRS(I) 10
What Is This Legislation About?
The Income Tax (International Tax Compliance Agreements) (Country-By-Country Reporting) Regulations 2018 (“CBCR Regulations”) implement Singapore’s domestic framework for country-by-country reporting by multinational enterprise (MNE) groups. In practical terms, the Regulations require large MNE groups to provide the Singapore tax authority (the Comptroller of Income Tax) with a structured report showing, for each jurisdiction where the group operates, key indicators such as revenue, profit (or loss), taxes paid, and certain other information.
The purpose is to enhance international tax transparency and support tax administrations in assessing transfer pricing and other base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) risks. The Regulations sit alongside the Income Tax Act provisions that define the reporting regime and related compliance obligations. While the CBCR framework is international in concept, these Regulations determine who must file, when, what triggers the obligation, and how Singapore handles special situations (including circumstances where the ultimate parent entity may be exempted and another group entity is designated to file).
For practitioners, the key value of the Regulations is that they translate the Income Tax Act’s CBCR architecture into operational rules: definitions (including thresholds and group types), application dates, filing timelines, record-keeping, and the compliance consequences that link back to offences under the Income Tax Act.
What Are the Key Provisions?
1. Definitions and scope of “Type A” and “Type B” groups (Regulation 2)
The Regulations define the entities and concepts that determine whether an MNE group falls within the CBCR regime. Two group categories are central:
- Type A group: a group of entities related through ownership or control such that the group is required (or would have been required) to prepare consolidated financial statements under Singapore or equivalent foreign accounting standards. The Regulations also impose a size and multi-jurisdiction test for an accounting period: consolidated group revenue of at least $1,125 million (or equivalent) in the immediately preceding accounting period, and two or more entities resident for tax purposes in different countries.
- Type B group: a single entity with one or more permanent establishments. It also has a size and cross-border permanent establishment test: revenue of at least $1,125 million in the immediately preceding accounting period, and tax residence in one country while being subject to income tax (or similar) with respect to business carried out through a permanent establishment in another country.
Regulation 2 also defines “ultimate parent entity”, “constituent entity”, “authorised person”, and incorporates the meaning of “country-by-country report” by reference to section 105I of the Income Tax Act. It further ties “Type A group” and “Type B group” status to the accounting period in question, meaning the CBCR obligation is assessed period-by-period.
2. Application and timing (Regulation 3)
Regulation 3 provides the temporal scope: the Regulations apply to a Type A group or Type B group for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2017. This is important for compliance planning because it establishes that the CBCR regime is not limited to accounting periods after the Regulations were enacted; rather, it covers earlier accounting periods starting from 1 January 2017.
3. Core filing obligation of the ultimate parent entity (Regulation 4)
Regulation 4 is the operational heart of the regime. Subject to the special designation mechanism in Regulation 5, it requires that where:
- the group is a Type A or Type B MNE group for an accounting period; and
- the ultimate parent entity is resident in Singapore,
the ultimate parent entity must submit a country-by-country report to the Comptroller (or an authorised person) for that accounting period, covering all constituent entities of the MNE group.
Notice requirement (Regulation 4(1A)–(1D))
From 12 August 2022 amendments (effective for reports beginning on or after 1 January 2022), the ultimate parent entity must also submit a notice indicating that it is an entity required to submit the CBCR. The notice must be filed:
- for each accounting period, in the form and manner determined by the Comptroller; and
- no later than 3 months after the end of the accounting period (or later if permitted by the Comptroller).
Regulation 4(1D) clarifies that the notice requirement does not apply where the Comptroller has issued a written notice under Regulation 5(2)(a) that the ultimate parent entity need not submit a CBCR for that accounting period.
Filing deadline (Regulation 4(2))
The ultimate parent entity must submit the country-by-country report no later than 12 months after the end of the accounting period (or such later time as the Comptroller may permit). In practice, this means the CBCR is typically filed after the group’s financial reporting cycle, but the Regulations impose a strict statutory deadline.
Record-keeping (Regulation 4(3))
The ultimate parent entity must keep and retain in safe custody all records used to prepare the CBCR for 5 years after the end of the accounting period. This is critical for audit readiness and for responding to Comptroller queries, especially where the CBCR data is derived from consolidated reporting systems and intercompany records.
Compliance and offences (Regulation 4(4)–(5))
Regulation 4 explicitly links certain failures to offences under the Income Tax Act. A requirement under Regulation 4(1), (1A) or (2) is treated as a requirement under section 105M(1)(b) of the Act; failure without reasonable excuse constitutes an offence under section 105M(1). Separately, failure to comply with the record-keeping requirement under Regulation 4(3) is linked to an offence under section 105M(1B). For counsel, this linkage underscores that CBCR compliance is not merely administrative—it is backed by criminal or quasi-criminal consequences under the Act.
4. Designation of another constituent entity to file (Regulation 5)
Regulation 5 provides a mechanism for exceptional cases where the ultimate parent entity is not required to file because disclosure would conflict with Singapore’s vital interests. The trigger is narrow:
- The group is a Type A group for the accounting period; and
- in that accounting period, the Government is the sole shareholder of the ultimate parent entity; and
- the Minister informed the Comptroller that a CBCR by the ultimate parent entity would contain information whose disclosure would be contrary to Singapore’s vital interests.
Where these conditions are met, the Comptroller may (after taking into account the information) issue written notices:
- to the ultimate parent entity that it need not submit the CBCR; and
- to one or more other constituent entities to submit the CBCR in place of the ultimate parent entity.
Although the provided extract truncates the remainder of Regulation 5, the structure indicates a substitution model: the reporting obligation is reallocated within the MNE group to ensure CBCR transparency continues while addressing sensitive information concerns.
How Is This Legislation Structured?
The CBCR Regulations are structured as a short set of operative provisions:
- Regulation 1 sets the citation and commencement date (5 February 2018).
- Regulation 2 provides definitions, including the classification of MNE groups into Type A and Type B, the meaning of “ultimate parent entity”, and the incorporation of accounting standards references (FRS 110 and SFRS(I) 10).
- Regulation 3 states the application period (accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2017).
- Regulation 4 establishes the filing obligation, notice requirement (for specified periods), filing deadline, and record-keeping duties, and links non-compliance to offences under the Income Tax Act.
- Regulation 5 creates a designation mechanism allowing the Comptroller to exempt the ultimate parent entity and require another constituent entity to file where disclosure would be contrary to Singapore’s vital interests.
Who Does This Legislation Apply To?
The Regulations apply to Type A and Type B MNE groups for relevant accounting periods. The classification depends on consolidated revenue thresholds (at least $1,125 million in the immediately preceding accounting period) and the group’s structure and cross-border footprint (consolidation requirements for Type A; permanent establishment structure for Type B).
Operationally, the primary filing duty falls on the ultimate parent entity resident in Singapore. However, Regulation 5 can shift the obligation to another constituent entity in specific circumstances (notably where the Government is the sole shareholder of the ultimate parent entity and the Minister has informed the Comptroller that disclosure would be contrary to Singapore’s vital interests).
Why Is This Legislation Important?
For tax practitioners and in-house tax teams, these Regulations are important because they define the compliance perimeter for CBCR in Singapore. They determine whether an MNE group is within scope, which entity must file, and the statutory deadlines and record-keeping requirements. The $1,125 million threshold and the Type A/Type B distinctions are particularly relevant when advising on whether a group is required to report and how to classify reporting entities.
Second, the Regulations are significant because they connect directly to enforcement. By expressly linking filing and notice requirements to offences under the Income Tax Act (including where failures occur “without reasonable excuse”), the Regulations elevate CBCR from a purely informational obligation to a legally enforceable duty. This affects how counsel should approach governance, internal controls, and documentation of reasonable excuses or mitigation where delays occur.
Third, the notice requirement introduced for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2022 adds an additional compliance step. Practitioners should ensure that systems capture both the notice filing (within 3 months after period end) and the CBCR submission (within 12 months after period end), and that the group can respond to Comptroller requests in the form and manner determined by the Comptroller.
Related Legislation
- Income Tax Act (Cap. 134) — including provisions on CBCR and offences, notably sections 105I, 105L, 105M, and the authorising power in section 105P
- Accounting Standards Act 2007 — references to financial reporting standards used to determine Type A group status, including FRS 110 and SFRS(I) 10
- Timeline / amendments — including amendments by S 869/2021, S 669/2022, and S 147/2023 (effective dates as shown in the legislation timeline)
Source Documents
This article provides an overview of the Income Tax (International Tax Compliance Agreements) (Country-By-Country Reporting) Regulations 2018 for legal research and educational purposes. It does not constitute legal advice. Readers should consult the official text for authoritative provisions.