Singapore legislation
Clause 16
Clause 16
Repeal of Schedule and new First and Second Schedules
The Schedule to the principal Act is repealed and the following Schedules substituted therefor:“FIRST SCHEDULESection 17Financial ProvisionsFinancial year
1. The financial year in respect of the Fund shall begin on 1st April of each year and end on 31st March of the succeeding year.Accounts to be kept
2. The Board shall keep proper accounts and records of its transactions involving the Fund and shall do all things necessary to ensure that all payments out of the Fund are correctly made and properly authorised and that adequate control is maintained over the moneys of the Fund and over the expenditure out of the Fund.Financial statements
3. The Board shall, as soon as practicable after the close of each financial year, prepare and submit to the auditor the financial statements relating to the Fund in respect of that year.Appointment of auditor4.—
The accounts relating to the Fund shall be audited by the Auditor-General or such other auditor as may be appointed annually by the Minister in consultation with the Auditor-General.(2) A person shall not be qualified for appointment as an auditor under sub-paragraph (1) unless he is an approved company auditor under the Companies Act [Cap. 50].Remuneration of auditor
5. The remuneration of the auditor shall be paid out of the Fund.Duties of auditor6.—
The auditor shall in his report state —
whether the financial statements show fairly the financial transactions and the state of affairs relating to the Fund;
whether proper accounting and other records have been kept in respect of all transactions involving the Fund;
whether receipts, expenditure and investment of moneys of the Fund and the acquisition of assets by the Board from the moneys of the Fund and the disposal of such assets during the financial year have been in accordance with the provisions of this Act; and
such other matters arising from the audit as he considers necessary.(2) The auditor shall, as soon as practicable after the accounts relating to the Fund have been submitted for audit, send a report of his audit to the Board and shall also submit such periodical and special reports to the Minister and to the Board as may appear to him to be necessary or as the Minister or the Board may require.Powers of auditor
7. The auditor or any person authorised by him is entitled at all reasonable times to full and free access to all accounting and other records relating, directly or indirectly, to the financial transactions involving the Fund and may make copies of, or extracts from, any such accounting and other records.Failure to furnish information to auditor8.—
The auditor or any person authorised by him may require any person to furnish him with such information in the possession of that person or to which that person has access as the auditor considers necessary for the purposes of his functions under this Act.(2) Any person who fails, without reasonable excuse, to comply with any requirement of the auditor or authorised person under sub-paragraph (1) or who otherwise hinders, obstructs or delays the auditor in the performance of his duties or the exercise of his powers shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $1,000.Presentation of financial statements and auditor’s report to Parliament9.—
The Board shall, as soon as the financial statements relating to the Fund have been audited in accordance with the provisions of this Act, send to the Minister a copy of the audited financial statements, signed by the chief executive of the Board, together with a copy of the auditor’s report.(2) Where the Auditor-General is not the auditor of the Fund, a copy of the audited financial statements and any report made by the auditor shall be forwarded to the Auditor-General when they are submitted to the Board.(3) The Minister shall as soon as practicable cause a copy of the audited financial statements and of the auditor’s report to be presented to Parliament.Annual report10.—
The Board shall, as soon as practicable after the end of each financial year, cause to be prepared and transmitted to the Minister a report dealing generally with its administration of the Fund during the preceding financial year and containing such information relating to the proceedings and policy of the Board in relation to its administration of the Fund as the Minister may, from time to time, direct.(2) The Minister shall as soon as practicable cause a copy of every such report to be presented to Parliament.(3) Notwithstanding sub-paragraph (1), the Minister may at any time request the Board to furnish him with any information concerning any matter relating to the administration of the Fund by the Board, and the Board shall furnish him with the information required, and afford him or his representative all necessary facilities for the verification of the information required.SECOND SCHEDULESection 23Matters in Respect of Which Board May Make Pegulations
1. Requiring employers to give notice of their liability to pay the levy and the manner in which the notice shall be given.
2. The manner in which the levy is to be paid and collected and the manner in which the levy when paid and collected shall be accounted for.
3. The manner in which the levy due and unpaid are to be assessed and collected.
4. The keeping by employers liable to pay the levy of payroll records, receipts of contributions and such other documents as may seem necessary, and the preservation of the same.
5. The refund of any levy paid in excess of the amount required by this Act and the forfeiture of any levy paid in excess which remains unclaimed within a stipulated time.
6. Matters consequential on the death of an employer, his becoming bankrupt or subject to any incapacity or (where the employer is a company) its winding up, in relation to any unpaid levy.
7. The remission of any levy.
8. Making any act or omission in contravention of any regulations made under this Act an offence and prescribing penalties for such offences which may consist of a fine not exceeding $5,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or both.
9. The imposition of penalties (such penalties, if unpaid, to be recoverable as a debt due to the Board) to be paid by an employer for late payment of the levy.
10. The manner of the service of notices for the purposes of this Act.”.