Section 72 of the Singapore Income Tax states that assessments to income tax are made by the Comptroller of Income Tax.
An assessment is normally made on the basis of the information provided by a taxpayer or its agent in the relevant return of income. If the Comptroller is not satisfied with the return or with any information provided by a taxpayer, he may proceed to make an assessment to the best of his judgment. Similarly where a person does not deliver a return, an assessment is made by the Comptroller.
Under Section 8(1) and Section 76(a), a hardcopy Notice of Assessment must be given by the Comptroller to the person liable to pay the tax. The Notice of Assessment is a statutory form and may be served on a taxpayer in person, by post, or electronically.
On 26 October 2017, due to the wider availability of technology, Section 8A(13) of the Income Tax Act was amended to enable notices, directions and other documents of the Comptroller of Income Tax to be served through the electronic service if such service is permitted by regulations.
Prior to 26 October 2017, electronic service was permitted only with the consent of the person to be served.
On 14 June 2018, the Income Tax (Electronic Service) Regulations 2018 was published in Government Gazette and came into operation on 18 June 2018, to implement an “opt-out” approach for the purpose of providing tax notices in digital format.
Instead of requiring taxpayers to provide certain consent before the Comptroller can issue digital tax notices instead of hardcopy notices, taxpayers will now have to opt out if they want to receive tax notices in hardcopy.
With this, taxpayers will have the flexibility to manage their preferences for hardcopy or e-copy at any time.
Source: Singapore Statutes Online, 19 June 2018