Power of Registrar to strike defunct company off register

Pursuant to S344 (1) of the Singapore Companies Act which states that where the Registrar has reasonable cause to believe that a company is not carrying on business or is not in operation, the Registrar may send to the company, and its directors, secretaries and members, a letter to that effect and stating that, if an answer showing cause to the contrary is not received within 30 days after the date of the letter, a notice will be published in the Gazette with a view to striking the name of the company off the register.

S344…… (1A) states that without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), in determining whether there is reasonable ground to believe that a company is not carrying on business, the Registrar may have regard to such circumstances as may be prescribed.  

The circumstances to which the Registrar may have regard in determining whether there is reasonable ground to believe that a company is not carrying on business are the following:

(a) the fact that the company has failed to file its annual return as required under section 197 of the Act;

(b) the fact that the company has failed to respond to any correspondence sent by the Registrar by registered post, where a response is required;

(c) the fact that mail sent by the Registrar to the registered office of the company is returned undelivered;

(d) the fact that credible information has been received by the Registrar indicating that the company is not carrying on business;

(e) the fact that none of the locally resident directors of the company could be contacted or located by the Registrar after the Registrar had taken reasonable efforts to do so;

(f) the fact that the sole director or the last remaining director of the company, shown in the register of directors kept under section 173 of the Act, is dead or is disqualified from acting as a director under the Act.