Companies Act 1967 · 2020 Revised Edition · Part 4 · Shares, Debentures and Charges
138. Company to keep copies of charging instruments and register of charges
Last amended by an amending law of 2014.
Official textFrom Singapore Statutes Online, unchanged
Every company must cause the instrument creating any charge requiring registration under this Division or a copy thereof to be kept at the registered office of the company for as long as the charge to which the instrument relates remains in force, but in the case of a series of debentures the keeping of a copy of one debenture of the series is sufficient for the purposes of this subsection.
company
“company” means a company incorporated under this Act or under any corresponding previous written law;
An instrument creating any charge or a copy thereof, or a copy of the series of debentures, as the case may be, that is required to be kept under subsection (1) —
charge
“charge” includes a mortgage and any agreement to give or execute a charge or mortgage whether upon demand or otherwise;
is deemed to form part of the records that are required to be kept under section 199(1); and
for the purposes of section 199(2), must be retained by the company for a period of 5 years after —
the date the debt for which the charge was given was paid or satisfied in whole;
the date the property or undertaking charged was released or ceased to form part of the company’s property or undertaking; or
where both of the events referred to in sub‑paragraphs (i) and (ii) occur in any particular case, the later of the dates.
Every company must keep at the registered office of the company a register of charges and enter therein all charges specifically affecting property of the company and all floating charges on the undertaking or any property of the company, giving in each case a short description of the property charged, the amount of the charge and (except in the case of securities to bearer) the names of the persons entitled thereto.
registered
“registered” means registered under this Act or any corresponding previous enactment;
The instruments or copies thereof and the register of charges kept pursuant to this section must be open to the inspection of any creditor or member of the company without fee, and the register of charges must also be open to the inspection of any other person on payment of such fee not exceeding $2 for each inspection as is fixed by the company.
register
“register of controllers” or “register” —(a)in relation to a company to which this Part applies — means the register that the company is required to keep of its registrable controllers under section 386AF(1), (1A), (2) or (3); and(b)in relation to a foreign company to which this Part applies — means the register that the foreign company is required to keep of its registrable controllers under section 386AF(4), (4A), (5) or (6);
Any person may, on application to a company and on payment of a fee, not exceeding $1 for every page or part thereof, be furnished with a copy of any instrument or debenture kept by the company pursuant to this section within 3 days of the person making the application.
debenture
“debenture” includes debenture stock, bonds, notes and any other securities of a corporation whether constituting a charge on the assets of the corporation or not, but does not include —(a)a cheque, letter of credit, order for the payment of money or bill of exchange;(b)subject to the regulations, a promissory note having a face value of not less than $100,000 and having a maturity period of not more than 12 months;(c)for the purposes of the application of this definition to a provision of this Act in respect of which any regulations made thereunder provide that the word “debenture” does not include a prescribed document or a document included in a prescribed class of documents, that document or a document included in that class of documents, as the case may be;
If default is made in complying with this section, the company and every officer of the company who is in default shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $2,000 and also to a default penalty.
officer
“officer”, in relation to a corporation, includes —(a)any director or secretary of the corporation or a person employed in an executive capacity by the corporation;(b)a receiver and manager of any part of the undertaking of the corporation appointed under a power contained in any instrument; and(c)any liquidator of a company appointed in a voluntary winding up,but does not include —(d)any receiver who is not also a manager;(e)any receiver and manager appointed by the Court;(f)any liquidator appointed by the Court or by the creditors; or(g)a judicial manager appointed under Part 7 of the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018;
Terms defined in this Act
charge
Defined · s 4“charge” includes a mortgage and any agreement to give or execute a charge or mortgage whether upon demand or otherwise;
company
Defined · s 4“company” means a company incorporated under this Act or under any corresponding previous written law;
debenture
Defined · s 4“debenture” includes debenture stock, bonds, notes and any other securities of a corporation whether constituting a charge on the assets of the corporation or not, but does not include —(a)a cheque, letter of credit, order for the payment of money or bill of exchange;(b)subject to the regulations, a promissory note having a face value of not less than $100,000 and having a maturity period of not more than 12 months;(c)for the purposes of the application of this definition to a provision of this Act in respect of which any regulations made thereunder provide that the word “debenture” does not include a prescribed document or a document included in a prescribed class of documents, that document or a document included in that class of documents, as the case may be;
default penalty
Defined · s 4“default penalty” means a default penalty within the meaning of section 408;
officer
Defined · s 4“officer”, in relation to a corporation, includes —(a)any director or secretary of the corporation or a person employed in an executive capacity by the corporation;(b)a receiver and manager of any part of the undertaking of the corporation appointed under a power contained in any instrument; and(c)any liquidator of a company appointed in a voluntary winding up,but does not include —(d)any receiver who is not also a manager;(e)any receiver and manager appointed by the Court;(f)any liquidator appointed by the Court or by the creditors; or(g)a judicial manager appointed under Part 7 of the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018;
register
Defined · s 386AB“register of controllers” or “register” —(a)in relation to a company to which this Part applies — means the register that the company is required to keep of its registrable controllers under section 386AF(1), (1A), (2) or (3); and(b)in relation to a foreign company to which this Part applies — means the register that the foreign company is required to keep of its registrable controllers under section 386AF(4), (4A), (5) or (6);
registered
Defined · s 4“registered” means registered under this Act or any corresponding previous enactment;
registration
Defined · s 356“registration”, in relation to a foreign corporate entity that has applied to be registered as a company limited by shares under this Part, means registration by the Registrar under section 359(1), and “register” and “registered” are to be construed accordingly.
Part 5
Management and Administration
Part 6
Financial Statements and Audit
Part 7
Arrangements, Reconstructions and Amalgamations
Part 8
Part 8A
Part 9
Investigations
Part 10
Dissolution
Part 10A
Transfer of Registration
Part 11
Various Types of Companies, Etc.
Part 11A
Register of Controllers, Nominee Directors and Nominee Shareholders of Companies
Part 12