Charities Act 1994 · 2020 Revised Edition · Part 5 · Charity Accounts, Reports and Returns
14. Annual reports
Feedback & supportLast amended by an amending law of 2018. 2 amendments in all.
Unless otherwise excepted by regulations made under this Act, the governing board members of a charity must prepare in respect of each financial year of the charity an annual report containing —
governing board members
“governing board members” means members of the governing body of a charity or trustees for a charity having the general control and management of the administration of the charity;
a prescribed report by the governing board members on the activities of the charity during that year; and
any other information relating to the charity or to its governing board members or officers that may be prescribed by regulations made under this Act.
The annual report required to be prepared under this section in respect of any financial year of a charity that is a registered charity or an exempt charity, must be transmitted to the Commissioner by the governing board members —
charity
“charity” means any institution, corporate or not, which is established for charitable purposes and is subject to the control of the General Division of the High Court in exercise of the jurisdiction of the General Division of the High Court with respect to charities;
within 6 months from the end of that year; or
within such longer period as the Commissioner may for any special reason allow in the case of that report.
Subject to subsection (4), every annual report of a registered charity or an exempt charity must have attached to it the financial statements or account and statement prepared for the financial year in question pursuant to section 12(1), together with —
where the accounts of the charity for that year have been audited under section 13, a copy of the report made by the auditor on the financial statements or account and statement, as the case may be; or
where the accounts of the charity for that year have been examined under section 13, a copy of the report made by the independent examiner in respect of the examination carried out by the independent examiner under that section.
Subsection (3) does not apply to a charity which is a company, and any annual report transmitted by the governing board members of such a charity under subsection (2) must have attached to it a copy of the charity’s annual accounts prepared for the financial year in question under Part 6 of the Companies Act 1967, together with a copy of the auditor’s report on those accounts.
company
“company” means a company incorporated or registered under any law in force in Singapore or elsewhere;
Any annual report transmitted to the Commissioner under subsection (2), together with the documents attached to it, must be kept by the Commissioner for such period as he or she may think fit.
Commissioner
“Commissioner” means the Commissioner of Charities appointed under section 3;
Subject to subsection (7), the governing board members of a charity must preserve every annual report prepared under this section for a financial year that ends on or after 1 April 2018 in respect of the charity, for at least 5 years after the end of the financial year of the charity to which the report relates.
Where a charity ceases to exist before the end of the minimum period in subsection (6) for preserving annual reports in respect of the charity —
the last governing board members of the charity; or
any one or more of the last governing board members of the charity, as may be agreed by the last governing board members,must preserve the annual reports to the end of that period, unless the Commissioner allows the annual reports to be earlier destroyed or otherwise disposed of.
Subsection (7) also applies to a charity that ceases to exist before 1 April 2018, if the minimum period in subsection (6) as it applies to any annual report of the charity has not ended on that date.[16