FAQS FOR BIZFILE POST-IMPLEMENTATION
DIALOGUE SESSION WITH PROFESSIONALBODIES
1 FEBRUARY 2002
A. COMMON QUESTIONS RECEIVED SINCE 15 JAN 2002
S/NO / ISSUE / REMARKSHow long does RCB take to process an appeal on a rejected name? / RCB takes 3 working days to process a name appeal. If there is a need for the officer to communicate with the applicant, it will be done via email. Professional firms need not send reminders or chasers or come down to RCB to meet with officers. To avoid rejections and multiple appeals, professional firms should disclose all relevant facts at point of submission of appeal.
Can the professional firm print the e-forms for the client to sign before clicking the “Submit” button? / Yes. You can save the e-forms and only submit the e-forms after your client has signed the printed copy.
All e-forms have been available for downloading or printing before 15 Jan 2002. You will be able to obtain the e-forms from RCB's website . It can be found under BizFile section and under the heading "Batch Filing Specifications" and "Batch Submission Package".
How does a professional declare in the incorporation application that he has seen the M&AA duly executed if it was done overseas? / The professional is to satisfy himself that the documents were duly executed, whether locally or overseas. He may wish to consider requiring the documents to be executed before a Notary Public. In the meantime, RCB will work towards making changes to the wording of the declaration to take into account this scenario.
If we prefer to state the name of the first secretary and/or names of the first directors in the M&AA, which M&AA do we have to select from the 2 types available in the system? / You may choose to customise the Model M&AA or attach your own version. You will be able to download RCB's Model or standard M&AA from RCB's website at under the section on Company Registration and under the heading " Incorporating a Local Company".
We need to state the three main objects of the Company in the first page of the M&AA. Which M&AA do we have to select from the 2 types available in the system? / If RCB's Model M&AA does not meet your needs, you may choose to customise the Model M&AA or attach your own version.
I submitted a name application but no email notification was sent to me regarding the outcome or the fact that a referral was made. / Please ensure that the email address furnished to us is accurate, otherwise the notification will not reach you. A missing full stop or the inclusion of an additional full stop or space makes a material difference.
I could not print the M&AA submitted after successfully incorporating my company. / Once you have completed the incorporation transaction, Bizfile does not allow you to re-enter the system to reprint the M&AA. You will need to obtain an extract in the usual manner. This is similar to the manual system - where once you have submitted the incorporation documents over the counter you cannot make photocopies of the same but have to purchase it as extracts.
What you should do is to print the M&AA and other documents while the incorporation process is ongoing or just before you submit the documents. If you have used the customised M&AA or your own version, then the document is still within your possession. Only a copy of what you have prepared would be forwarded to RCB.
If I incorporate more than one company and use RCB's Model M&AA, the name of the first company will appear on the M&AA when I am attempting to incorporate the second company? / To ensure that the second M&AA reflects the name of the second proposed company, please click “Refresh” to obtain the updated company name if you are performing more than 1 incorporation.
How long does it take for RCB to process my application for a Professional Number? / RCB takes 7 working days to process an application for Professional number.
Why must I still submit a Form 6? / As mentioned in PD 1 of 2002, until the law is changed, s 19(2) of the Companies Act Cap 50 ("CA") still requires a Statutory Declaration in the form of Form 6 to be lodged.
Must the M&AA be signed in accordance with the requirements of s. 22 of the Companies Act? / The subscribers must still sign the M& AA and the subscribers must indicate the number of shares they intend to take up in the manner set out in section 22(2). The difference is that this signed copy of the M&AA need not be lodged with RCB. The signed copy should be kept and maintained by the company upon incorporation. Professional firms may wish to retain a copy of the signed M&AA for their administrative purposes.
Must I ask the proposed directors to sign the Form 45? / Please see Regulation 8A of the Companies Regulations which came into force on 15 Jan 2002. For RCB's purposes, the declaration by the professional is sufficient. However,. s173(2) CA has always and still requires a copy of the consent to be maintained together with the registers. Also it would be prudent for the professional to get the proposed director to indicate his consent in some way before the professional makes the relevant declaration. One way is to get the proposed director to sign a Form 45.
Why must the authorised person release his CPF PAL PIN to his employees to enable them to do filings? / This is absolutely wrong. Each individual authorised to perform filings with RCB online must use their own CPF PAL PIN. The authorised person or any person for that matter need not (in fact must not) release his CPF PAL PIN for others to use. Such a practice is not condoned by RCB and undermines the integrity of the system.
After I submit a name application or incorporate a company, I cannot locate the Name Application number or the Company Registration number. Why is this so? / Upon payment, the receipt will appear as a pop-up screen. Once you close this screen or click on the screen behind this pop-up screen, you will be able to see the transaction record and obtain the requisite numbers. Alternatively, you can check under the Status Enquiry module.
The 60-character limit for applicants to key in their name appeal reasons is too short. / You can use abbreviations where necessary (e.g. applicant=applt, number=no.). Your attached letter of explanation should explain in detail the reason for the name appeal.
I have submitted my application to subscribe to RCB Deposit Service Account some time ago but I have not heard from RCB about my deposit account number. / We can only activate the Deposit Service Account after your application for Professional Number has been approved. Please apply for a Professional Number if you have not done so.
How can I top up my Deposit Service Account? / You can top up your Deposit Service Account online using the payment modes available in Bizfile (ie Cashcards, Credit Cards or Direct Debit Internet Banking). Alternatively, you may top up your account by sending us a cheque indicating your deposit account number. Please refer to our PD1 of 2002 for more information.
How long does it take for RCB to process my application to subscribe to or top-up the Deposit Service Account by cheque? / We need 3 working days to process your application.
How can I make enquiries on Deposit Service Account transactions? / You can log on to the function : "Transaction Enquiry" for Deposit Service in Bizfile to view your Statement of transactions for your Deposit Service Account.
Where can I find out more information about Direct Debit Internet Banking (ie D2Pay)? / Currently, D2Pay is supported only by DBS. Please visit their web-site at for more information.
What information do I need to provide for making payments using credit cards (ie PcTrans)? / You will need to enter the following :
1.Name of card holder
2. Credit card number
3. CVC number which is the last 3 digits of the long strand of numbers shown at the back of the card.
4. Expiry date
Why must I submit a name appeal for cases where the proposed company will be taking over a business firm upon incorporation? / Legally, two identical names cannot co-exist and hence should be rejected. The names can only be approved upon special consideration and upon imposition of conditions (e.g. termination of the business firm within a fixed period). Also, the fact that it is a takeover case does not mean that the proposed company name will be automatically approved.
B. COMMON ERRORS MADE
S/NO / TYPE OF ERRORS / REMARKS1. / Error messages when "BACK" or "FORWARD" button used. / You cannot use the Internet browser's "BACK" and "FORWARD" buttons for BizFile. Please navigate using the buttons provided within BizFile.
2. / Improper logging out from the system. As a result the last CPF PAL PIN logon still. / Users are reminded again to logout completely from the Internet Browser when you have completed a transaction.
3. / Letter forwarded by Professional firm together with application for professional number does not disclose the qualification of the authorised persons. / The qualification of both the authorised persons must be disclosed. It is insufficient to give the registration numbers issued by the professional association.
4. / Letter naming the authorised persons sent by post only to RCB with a request for RCB to do the scanning. / RCB does not provide such a service. The letters must be scanned in when submitting the application for Professional Number. If the professional firm does not have a scanner, RCB has provided two self-help kiosks at RCB for the use of professional firms FOC. These self-help kiosks are equipped with scanners.
Just a reminder that letters should be scanned in the recommended format i.e. GIF & JPEG as found in the tutorial, as we still do receive un-readable images.
5. / Sharing or 'borrowing' of authorised person to obtain Professional numbers. / It has come to RCB's attention that some management or business consultancy firms which do not have any persons with the requisite section 171(1A) qualifications on their payroll have been teaming up with professionals to apply for the Professional Numbers. These professionals who volunteer or 'lend' their names are not directors etc of these firms. RCB takes a serious view of such violations and will not hesitate to report the matter to the relevant professional body for action to be taken.
6. / Proposed name contains more than one suffix. An example would be "ABC Trading Pte. Ltd. Pte. Ltd." / As BizFile already provides a drop down menu of suffixes, applicant need not type in the suffix when typing in the name. The reason why RCB provides a drop down menu of suffixes is to standardise the types of suffixes used and ensure that only legally allowed suffixes are used (see s. 27(9) CA)
7. / Proposed company name does not reflect the requisite suffix. / BizFile provides a drop down menu next to the box for the proposed name for the applicant to select the suffix. The suffixes available are those allowed under s. 27(9) CA. We note that for new applications made online, more often than not, the applicant omits to select the suffix to be used.
8. / Wrong company type selected. / Please check the company type selected when applying for a company name. We commonly find that professionals either do not select the right company type or just omit to make the selection and hence the system will default to the first type on the list. As a result, when it comes to incorporation, difficulties are encountered as this will tie in to the type of company to be incorporated. An example would be a selection of "Public company" when actually you intend to incorporate an “exempt private company" or "private company".
When you commence incorporation, the system will only let you incorporate a public company.
9. / Incorporation application lapses as payment is not made within requisite time frame. / As in the manual system, when you submit your incorporation documents, you are prompted to make payment. In order for RCB to process the documents, payment must be made. If you have no intention to make payment, please save the documents and submit when you are ready.
10. / Incorporations being submitted by non-professionals. / Please remember that incorporations must be conducted by professionals and not by the secretaries etc in the professional firms. We draw your attention to the declaration which must be made by the professional.
RCB does not expect the professional to perform the clerical tasks of typing in the information etc. Hence we have provided the "Batch submission Package" which will enable the clerical work etc to be performed offline. The professional need only perform the last task of making the declaration and the submission. Also if the application for company name is done online (which need not be done by the professional but can be done by the employees of the professional firm), then at incorporation stage, the information is already populated and hence the professional does not have to perform any additional clerical tasks.
11. / Difficulty in completing share allotment/subscription section / Do not insert commas or full stops in the number of shares.
Do not complete the “Preference” or “Others” fields if they are not applicable.
“Amount paid or due and payable” refers to the amount on each share (as indicated on the e-form), not on the total number of shares.
The "Amount due and payable" should be filled as "0" if the shares are fully paid.
12. / Double payments. / We note that a number of cases resulted in double payments. Our investigations revealed that this occurred because the applicant clicked the "Cancel" button after clicking the "Submit' button and then proceeded to repeat the transaction.
We have since disabled the "Cancel" button after the "Submit" button is clicked.
C. COMMON SYSTEM PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED
S/NO / ISSUES / REMARKS1. / Name applications showed name of company without any suffix. / This problem was encountered by those who had obtained approval of a company name before 15 Jan 2002 under the manual system. This was a result of data synchronisation problem. The problem will be resolved once this backlog of names approved under the manual system are used for incorporation or have lapsed.
2. / System downtimes / We encountered two episodes of downtime when the PSi infrastructure was down. However the problems were resolved and the downtime experienced was not excessive. Professionals are reminded to take note of the contingency plan we have drawn up in PD 1 of 2002.
3. / SSIC selection cannot be done by keying in the SSIC numbers. Professionals are more familiar with the numbers and selection by description is too long. / Point noted. We will enhance the system to enable applicants to select either by description or number. We would like to first stabilise the system before making any enhancements.
Note:
Applicants are reminded that they can consult the tutorials under the Bizfile section of our Homepage ( for assistance on how to obtain a Professional Number, how to login to Bizfile, how to complete a name application and how to e-cincorporate.
Issued by the Registry of Companies and Businesses on 1 Feb 2002.
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