On 25 October 2018, the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) has published that Singapore received the highest overall compliant rating a jurisdiction can receive that affirms its regime for exchange of information on request (EOIR). The rating was awarded by the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes (Global Forum).

The Global Forum has assessed Singapore’s regime and noted that Singapore:

  • has in place appropriate legislation requiring availability of all relevant information, including on beneficial owners, of relevant entities and arrangements.
  • carries out adequate supervisory and enforcement measures to ensure that the relevant information is available in practice as required.
  • tax authority’s access powers are broad and allow provision of all types of requested information to its EOI partners in line with the standard.
  • conducted timely and effective EOI with its EOI partners.
  • is valued by its EOI partners as an important and reliable partner.

Source: IRAS, 27 October 2018