Clause 2

by inserting, immediately after the definition of “ “accounting limited liability partnership” or “accounting LLP” ” in section 2, the following definition:“ “alternate address” means an alternate address maintained with the Registrar under section 12C that meets the requirements of that section;”;

by inserting, immediately after the definition of “firm” in section 2, the following definition:“ “identification” means —

in the case of an individual issued with an identity card under the National Registration Act (Cap. 201), the number of the individual’s identity card; and

in the case of an individual not issued with an identity card under that Act, particulars of the individual’s passport or such other similar evidence of identity as is acceptable to the Registrar;”;

by inserting, immediately after the definition of “repealed Accountants Act” in section 2, the following definition:“ “residential address”, in relation to an individual, means the individual’s usual place of residence;”;

by renumbering section 2 as subsection (1) of that section, and by inserting immediately thereafter the following subsection:“(2) For the purposes of sections 11(6), 15(6), 20(1), (3) and (4), 31(6) and 48(3), (4) and (5), any reference to the Minister includes a reference to such Minister of State for his Ministry who is authorised by the Minister for the purpose of hearing an appeal under that section.”;

by inserting, immediately after subsection (1) of section 11, the following subsection:“(1A) An application for registration under subsection (1) on or after the date of commencement of section 2 of the Statutes (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No. 2) Act 2014 (referred to in this section as the appointed day) shall contain the following particulars of the applicant: (a)full name;

identification;

nationality;

residential address.”;

by inserting, immediately after subsection (6) of section 11, the following subsections:“(7) In the case of an applicant who applies for registration before the appointed day and is registered as a public accountant after the appointed day, the address stated in his application to the Oversight Committee shall be treated as his residential address in the Register of Public Accountants, until a notification of any change to his residential address is received under section 14(1).(8) In the case of a public accountant registered before the appointed day, the address as recorded in the Register of Public Accountants shall be treated as his residential address in that Register, until a notification of any change to the public accountant’s residential address is received by the Registrar under section 14(1).”; (g)by inserting, immediately before section 13, the following sections:“Request for copy of filed documents12B.—

Subject to section 12C, a person may, upon payment of such fee as may be prescribed, require a copy of or an extract from any document, as may be prescribed, which is filed with the Registrar, to be given or certified by the Registrar.(2) Any copy or extract given under subsection (1) which is certified to be a true copy or extract by the Registrar is, in any proceedings, admissible in evidence as of equal validity with the original document.Alternate address12C.—

Despite section 12B, the Registrar must not disclose or make available for public inspection the particulars of a public accountant’s residential address that is lodged with the Registrar under this Act or transmitted to the Registrar by the Commissioner of National Registration under section 8A of the National Registration Act (Cap. 201) if the requirements of subsection (2) are satisfied.(2) The requirements referred to in subsection (1) are that the public accountant referred to in that subsection maintains with the Registrar an alternate address that complies with the following conditions:

it is an address at which the public accountant can be located;

it is not a post office box number;

it is not the residential address of the public accountant; and

it is located in the same jurisdiction as the public accountant’s residential address.(3) For the purposes of subsection (2) —

a public accountant who wishes to maintain an alternate address must lodge an application with the Registrar;

a public accountant may not maintain more than one alternate address at any one time;

a public accountant who wishes to cease to maintain an alternate address must lodge a notice of withdrawal with the Registrar; and (d)a public accountant who wishes to change his alternate address must lodge a notice of change with the Registrar.(4) An application to maintain an alternate address, and the lodgment of a notice of withdrawal or change of an alternate address, are subject to the payment of such fees as may be prescribed. (5) Subsection (1) applies from the time at which the Registrar accepts an application to maintain an alternate address referred to in subsection (3)(a).(6) A public accountant who maintains an alternate address under subsection (2) must ensure that he can be located at that alternate address.(7) A public accountant who fails to comply with subsection (6) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to both.(8) Despite subsection (1), the Registrar may disclose and make available for public inspection the particulars of a public accountant’s residential address despite the maintenance of an alternate address under subsection (2) if —

communications sent by the Registrar under this Act, or by any officer of the Authority under any ACRA administered Act, to the public accountant at the public accountant’s alternate address and requiring a response within a specified period remain unanswered; or

there is evidence to show that service of any document under this Act or under any ACRA administered Act at the alternate address is not effective to bring it to the notice of the public accountant.(9) Before proceeding under subsection (8), the Registrar must give notice to the public accountant —

stating the grounds on which the Registrar proposes to disclose and make available for public inspection the public accountant’s residential address; and

specifying a period within which representations may be made before that is done.(10) The Registrar is to consider the representations received within the specified period.(11) Where the Registrar discloses and makes available for public inspection the particulars of a public accountant’s residential address, the Registrar must give notice of that fact to the public accountant.(12) A notice to a public accountant under subsection (9) or (11) is to be sent to the public accountant at his residential address unless it appears to the Registrar that service at that address may be ineffective to bring it to the public accountant’s notice, in which case it may be sent to any other last known address of that public accountant.(13) Where —

the Registrar discloses and makes available for public inspection the particulars of a public accountant’s residential address under subsection (8); or

a Registrar appointed under any other ACRA administered Act discloses and makes available for public inspection under that Act the particulars of a public accountant’s residential address under a provision of that Act equivalent to subsection (8),that public accountant is not, for a period of 3 years after the date on which the residential address is disclosed and made available for public inspection, allowed to maintain an alternate address under subsection (2).(14) Nothing in this section applies to any information lodged or deemed to be lodged with the Registrar before the date of commencement of section 2 of the Statutes (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No. 2) Act 2014 or prevents such information from being disclosed or from being made available for public inspection or access.(15) Nothing in this section prevents the residential address that is lodged with the Registrar under this Act, or is transmitted to the Registrar by the Commissioner of National Registration under section 8A of the National Registration Act from —

being used by the Registrar for the purposes of any communication with the public accountant;

being disclosed for the purposes of issuing any summons or other legal process against the public accountant for the purposes of this Act or any other written law;

being disclosed in compliance with the requirement of any court or the provisions of any written law;

being disclosed for the purpose of assisting any public officer or officer of any statutory board in the investigation or prosecution of any offence under any written law; or

being disclosed in such other circumstances as may be prescribed.(16) Any person aggrieved by the decision of the Registrar under subsection (8) may, within 30 days after the date of receiving the notice under subsection (11), appeal to the High Court which may confirm the decision or give such directions in the matter as seem proper or otherwise determine the matter.(17) For the purposes of this section —

“ACRA administered Act” means the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority Act (Cap. 2A) and any of the written laws specified in the Second Schedule to that Act; and

a public accountant can be located at an address if he may be physically found at the address after reasonable attempts have been made to find the public accountant at the address.”; (h)by deleting the words “or any” in section 14(1) and substituting the words “, residential address or any other”;

by inserting, immediately after subsection (2) of section 14, the following subsection:“(3) Where the public accountant has changed his residential address and has made a report of the change under section 8 of the National Registration Act, the public accountant is to be taken to have informed the Registrar of the change of residential address in compliance with subsection (1).”;

by inserting, immediately after paragraph (b) of section 64(2), the following paragraphs:“(ba)to prescribe the penalties payable for the late lodgment of any document;

by inserting, immediately after section 64, the following section:“Service of documents on public accountant64A. Any document required to be served under this Act on a public accountant shall be sufficiently served if addressed to the public accountant and left at or sent by post to his residential address or, if the public accountant has provided an alternate address under section 12C, his alternate address.”.