Statute Details
- Title: Income Tax (International Tax Compliance Agreements) (Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement on the Exchange of Country-By-Country Reports) Order 2018
- Act Code: ITA1947-S72-2018
- Type: Subsidiary Legislation (SL)
- Enacting Formula / Authority: Made by the Minister for Finance in exercise of powers conferred by section 105K of the Income Tax Act (Cap. 134)
- Citation: S 72/2018
- Made Date: 30 January 2018
- Status: Current version as at 27 March 2026
- Core Instrument Declared: Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement on the Exchange of Country-By-Country Reports (CbC MCAA)
- Key Operative Provision: Declaration of the CbC MCAA as an “international tax compliance agreement” for purposes of Part 20B of the Income Tax Act
- Schedules: First to Twentieth Schedules listing covered jurisdictions and the dates from which exchange starts
What Is This Legislation About?
The Income Tax (International Tax Compliance Agreements) (Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement on the Exchange of Country-By-Country Reports) Order 2018 (“the Order”) is a Singapore legal instrument that enables and formalises international information exchange under the OECD-style country-by-country reporting framework. In practical terms, it declares that the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement on the Exchange of Country-By-Country Reports (“CbC MCAA”) is an “international tax compliance agreement” for Singapore’s domestic tax compliance regime.
Country-by-country reporting (“CbC reporting”) is a mechanism used to improve transparency in multinational enterprise (MNE) group structures. Large groups provide tax authorities with a high-level breakdown of income, taxes, and certain indicators of economic activity across jurisdictions where they operate. The CbC MCAA then provides a legal basis for tax administrations to exchange those reports with each other, subject to confidentiality and procedural safeguards.
This Order is not itself a detailed CbC reporting rulebook. Instead, it performs a crucial “gateway” function: it identifies the agreement and the specific foreign jurisdictions with which Singapore will exchange CbC reports, and it specifies the start dates for each jurisdiction. Those dates matter because CbC reporting exchange is implemented in phases as countries join the multilateral arrangement.
What Are the Key Provisions?
Section 1 (Citation) simply identifies the Order as the Income Tax (International Tax Compliance Agreements) (Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement on the Exchange of Country-By-Country Reports) Order 2018. While this is standard drafting, it is important for practitioners when citing the instrument in submissions, compliance documentation, or internal governance materials.
Section 2 (Declaration as international tax compliance agreement) is the operative provision. It declares the CbC MCAA to be an “international tax compliance agreement” for the purposes of Part 20B of the Income Tax Act between the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) and the competent authorities of specified countries.
The declaration is structured as a series of categories (a) to (t), each linked to a schedule. For each listed jurisdiction, the Order specifies the date from which the exchange of country-by-country reports starts. For example, the Order provides that for countries in the First Schedule, exchange starts 31 July 2017; for the Second Schedule, exchange starts 21 December 2017; and so on through later schedules that reflect later joining dates.
From a legal and compliance perspective, the most important aspects of Section 2 are:
- It ties the multilateral agreement to Singapore’s domestic framework: the declaration is expressly “for the purposes of Part 20B of the Act.” This means the domestic consequences (including reporting, exchange mechanics, and confidentiality/procedural rules) are triggered by the existence of the declared international agreement.
- It identifies the counterpart competent authorities: the exchange is between IRAS and the “competent authority of each of the countries specified” in the schedules. This matters because CbC exchange is not between private parties; it is a state-to-state (tax authority-to-tax authority) process.
- It sets jurisdiction-specific effective dates: the schedules are not merely lists; they are paired with start dates. This affects when a given foreign jurisdiction can receive Singapore CbC reports and when Singapore can receive theirs.
- It reflects amendments over time: the Order has been amended multiple times (e.g., by S 711/2018, S 893/2018, S 546/2020, S 959/2021, S 356/2022, S 714/2023, S 224/2024, S 731/2024, S 813/2024, S 263/2025, and S 64/2026). These amendments generally add jurisdictions and/or adjust the schedules and effective dates.
Although the extract does not reproduce the full text of each schedule, the structure is clear: First Schedule through Ninth Schedule list “countries,” while Tenth Schedule through Nineteenth Schedule include “country” (singular) in the extract. Twentieth Schedule also lists a “country.” This drafting reflects that some joiners were added individually at later stages, while earlier joiners were grouped.
Practitioners should also note the presence of bracketed amendment notes such as “[S 711/2018 wef 26/10/2018]” and “[S 893/2018 wef 28/12/2018]”. These indicate that the schedules and/or the declaration’s application were updated by subsequent subsidiary legislation, and they help confirm the effective dates of those amendments.
How Is This Legislation Structured?
The Order is structured in a short, functional format typical of Singapore tax information exchange instruments:
- Enacting Formula: identifies the enabling power under the Income Tax Act (section 105K) and the Minister’s authority to make the Order.
- Citation: section 1.
- Declaration: section 2, which declares the CbC MCAA as an international tax compliance agreement for Part 20B of the Income Tax Act.
- Schedules: First through Twentieth Schedules, each listing the relevant foreign jurisdictions (competent authorities) and, through the body of section 2, the date from which exchange starts for those jurisdictions.
In effect, the “substance” of the Order lies in the combination of (i) the declaration of the multilateral agreement and (ii) the jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction effective dates. The schedules are therefore central to determining whether a particular foreign tax authority is covered and from when.
Who Does This Legislation Apply To?
This Order applies primarily to Singapore’s tax administration (IRAS) and to multinational enterprise groups indirectly, through the operation of Part 20B of the Income Tax Act. While the Order itself is addressed to the legal relationship between competent authorities, the practical effect is that Singapore can exchange CbC reports with the listed jurisdictions and must do so in accordance with the domestic framework that governs CbC reporting and international exchange.
In practice, the compliance burden falls on MNE groups that are within the scope of Singapore’s CbC reporting obligations (as defined in Part 20B and related provisions). Those obligations typically include preparing a CbC report and ensuring it is filed in Singapore where required, so that the report can be exchanged with relevant jurisdictions under the declared agreement. The Order’s schedules then determine which jurisdictions are eligible exchange partners and the timing of exchange.
Why Is This Legislation Important?
The Order is important because it operationalises cross-border tax transparency. Without a formal declaration like this, Singapore would lack the domestic legal basis to treat the CbC MCAA as an “international tax compliance agreement” for Part 20B purposes. That basis is essential for lawful exchange of sensitive tax information and for ensuring that exchange occurs under a recognised legal framework rather than on an ad hoc basis.
For practitioners advising multinational groups, the Order matters in two main ways:
- Timing and coverage: the jurisdiction-specific start dates determine when exchange begins. This can affect compliance planning, internal tax reporting calendars, and the assessment of whether a given year’s CbC report will be exchanged with a particular counterparty.
- Regulatory certainty: the schedules provide a clear list of covered jurisdictions. This reduces uncertainty for groups with complex cross-border structures and multiple reporting jurisdictions.
From an enforcement and governance perspective, the Order also signals Singapore’s continued integration into international tax compliance standards. The repeated amendments (up to the version current as at 27 March 2026) show that Singapore updates its exchange network as more jurisdictions join or as effective dates change. For legal teams, this underscores the need to monitor subsidiary legislation updates when advising on CbC reporting and international exchange implications.
Related Legislation
- Income Tax Act (Cap. 134) — in particular section 105K (enabling power) and Part 20B (international tax compliance agreement framework for CbC exchange)
- Income Tax (International Tax Compliance Agreements) (Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement on the Exchange of Country-By-Country Reports) Order 2018 — as amended by subsequent subsidiary legislation (e.g., S 711/2018, S 893/2018, S 546/2020, S 959/2021, S 356/2022, S 714/2023, S 224/2024, S 731/2024, S 813/2024, S 263/2025, S 64/2026)
Source Documents
This article provides an overview of the Income Tax (International Tax Compliance Agreements) (Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement on the Exchange of Country-By-Country Reports) Order 2018 for legal research and educational purposes. It does not constitute legal advice. Readers should consult the official text for authoritative provisions.