Singapore’s regulators do not send reminders to your phone. They update the rules, publish a notice on their portals, and expect you to know.

This past week — between 6 and 9 May 2026 — two changes took effect that affect virtually every company registered in Singapore. One is a classification update that may seem administrative until you realise it has downstream effects on your grants, licences, banking, and tax incentive eligibility. The other is a further tightening of the corporate governance framework that raises the personal liability stakes for every director.

If you have not checked either of these yet, this article is for you.

 

Change #1: ACRA Has Updated Every Company’s Business Classification Code

What Just Happened

On 9 May 2026, ACRA rolled out the Singapore Standard Industrial Classification 2025 (SSIC 2025), replacing the previous SSIC 2020 framework. Every single registered business entity in Singapore — companies, sole proprietorships, LLPs, partnerships — has had its SSIC code automatically migrated from SSIC 2020 to the nearest SSIC 2025 equivalent.

If your company was registered before 9 May 2026, you did not need to do anything to trigger this migration. ACRA did it automatically. But — and this is the part many business owners will miss — the auto-migration may not have produced an accurate code for your company’s actual activities.

ACRA will automatically map your existing SSIC 2020 code to the nearest SSIC 2025 equivalent using official correspondence tables. However, you should review your auto-assigned code after the transition and file an update within 14 days if it no longer accurately reflects your business activities.

That 14-day window is already running.

 

What Is SSIC 2025 and Why Does It Matter?

The SSIC is a five-digit classification code that every Singapore company must declare with ACRA to describe its principal business activity. It is not a mere administrative label. Your SSIC code is one of the most consequential pieces of information in your company’s public profile — used by ACRA, IRAS, Enterprise Singapore, MAS, and Singapore’s banks to determine:

• What licences your company requires — certain SSIC codes automatically trigger referral to sector regulators (MAS for financial services, MOH for healthcare, MOM for employment agencies). An incorrect code can result in missing a licence requirement, or triggering an unnecessary regulatory review
• Which government grants and schemes your company is eligible for — Enterprise Singapore grants, Startup SG programmes, and sector-specific incentives are frequently tied to specific SSIC codes. The wrong code can mean your company is assessed as ineligible for schemes it should qualify for
• IRAS tax incentive eligibility — IRAS uses SSIC codes to determine whether a company qualifies for certain preferential tax treatments and sector-specific incentives
• Corporate bank account approval — banks in Singapore conduct compliance checks during account opening and ongoing reviews. A mismatch between your declared SSIC code, your company website, and your actual business model is a common trigger for delays, requests for additional documentation, or outright rejection

SSIC 2025 replaced SSIC 2020 on 9 May 2026. Over 1,500 codes were revised; some merged, some split into more specific sub-categories. New codes were added for emerging sectors, including climate technology, digital platforms, and AI-related services, while obsolete codes with few registered businesses were removed. The system is now more closely aligned with the United Nations’ ISIC Revision 5 international standard.

 

What Changed Between SSIC 2020 and SSIC 2025?

This is the most significant update to Singapore’s industry classification system since 2020, and the changes are substantive — not cosmetic.

New sections have been created to align to the changes in ISIC Rev. 5. New codes have also been introduced in SSIC 2025 to capture different forms of production and newly emerging industries. Obsolete codes have been removed while detailed definitions and alphabetical index have been improved.

The structural changes include:

 

Section J has been split into two sections. Previously, SSIC 2020’s Section J covered “Information and Communications.” In SSIC 2025, this has been divided into:

• Section J: Publishing, Broadcasting, and Content Production and Distribution Activities
• Section K: Telecommunications, Computer Programming, Consultancy, Computing Infrastructure, and Other Information Service Activities

This is directly relevant to technology companies, digital media businesses, software developers, IT consultants, and cloud services providers. If your company sat in SSIC 2020’s Section J, your auto-migrated code may have landed in either of the two new sections — and it may not be the right one for your actual activities.

 

New codes for emerging industries. SSIC 2025 introduces new classifications for activities that either did not exist or were inadequately captured under SSIC 2020, including climate technology, AI-related services, renewable energy activities, digital platforms, and green economy businesses. New codes have been created and the scope of existing codes expanded for identification of emerging activities such as activities related to the green economy, and codes that are obsolete or have few units have been removed or merged to ensure the continued relevance of SSIC.

This matters particularly for companies in sustainability, AI, fintech, Web3, digital services, and content creation. If your business has evolved since you registered and you were already operating in a category that SSIC 2020 did not adequately capture, SSIC 2025 may now have a code that fits your actual activities far more precisely — and carrying the more accurate code is both more compliant and potentially better for grants and incentive eligibility.

 

Factored Goods Principals (FGPs) reclassified. Under SSIC 2020, FGPs — companies that control the production of a good by providing specifications and outsourcing manufacturing — were classified under wholesale and retail trade. Under SSIC 2025, they are reclassified based on the type of product being manufactured. If your business structure involves outsourced manufacturing, your code may have shifted category entirely.

 

What You Need to Do Right Now 

• Step 1: Log into ACRA BizFile+ using your Singpass or CorpPass and check your company’s current SSIC code. Your company profile will now show your auto-migrated SSIC 2025 code.
• Step 2: Compare the auto-migrated code against your actual principal business activity. Your SSIC code should reflect the activity that generates the highest revenue for your company — not how you spend most of your time, and not how you would describe your company to a client.
• Step 3: If the auto-migrated code does not accurately describe your revenue-generating activities, file a change. Update your SSIC code via BizFile+ within 14 days of the migration. The filing fee is S$15. The update takes effect immediately and is reflected in public records.
• Step 4: Check for consistency. Ensure that your updated SSIC code is consistent with your company website description, your business plan documents, and your corporate bank account application or existing account records. Banks review SSIC codes as part of ongoing compliance checks — an unexplained change can prompt questions.
• Step 5: For new incorporations after 9 May 2026, SSIC 2025 codes are now mandatory for all registrations. SSIC 2020 codes can no longer be used for new filings.

 

The Penalty for Getting It Wrong

Misrepresenting your business activity — whether through an incorrect SSIC code or a failure to update — is not treated as a minor administrative slip. Directors face fines of S$500 to S$2,000 for late updates or non-compliance. For serious misrepresentation, fines can go up to S$10,000.

More practically: the wrong SSIC code can quietly exclude your company from grants, generate unnecessary regulatory referrals, or create compliance friction with your bank — none of which announces itself with a clear warning until the problem has already materialised.

Change #2: Higher Director Penalties Now in Force

What Just Happened

The second change this week may carry greater personal stakes for directors.

The Corporate and Accounting Laws (Amendment) Act 2025 has been commencing in phases throughout 2026. The first phase took effect in April 2026. The second phase, targeting director accountability provisions, commenced on 6 May 2026.

The most significant change in this phase: the maximum fine for a director who breaches their statutory duties under Section 157 of the Companies Act has been raised from S$5,000 to S$20,000. The potential imprisonment term for egregious breaches remains at up to 12 months.

Previously, directors who failed to act with reasonable diligence or manage the company in its best interests faced a maximum fine of S$5,000. Under the new 6 May 2026 provisions, this maximum has been raised to S$20,000.

That is a fourfold increase in the maximum financial penalty — and it applies to every director of every Singapore company, effective immediately.

 

What Section 157 Actually Covers

Section 157 of the Companies Act sets out the core statutory duties of every director in Singapore. These are not complex obligations reserved for large corporations. They apply to the director of a two-person SME just as much as to the board of a listed company.

Under Section 157, every director must:

• Act honestly — make decisions in the genuine interests of the company, not for personal gain or the gain of a third party at the company’s expense
• Use reasonable diligence — actively engage with the company’s affairs; “passive” directorship that involves signing documents without understanding their content is a breach
• Not improperly use information — information obtained in the course of being a director must not be used for personal advantage or to cause detriment to the company
• Not improperly use the position of director — the director’s office cannot be used to gain advantage for themselves or others, or to cause harm to the company

In practice, the most common breaches ACRA prosecutes under Section 157 are not dramatic acts of fraud. They are failures of diligence: rubber-stamping decisions without understanding them, authorising transactions without proper due diligence, allowing a company’s records to fall into disarray, or failing to detect and act on clear signs of financial irregularity.

The fourfold increase in the maximum fine under the May 2026 changes sends a clear signal: ACRA regards these obligations as serious, and the consequences of ignoring them have become considerably more material.

 

Automatic Disqualification for Certain Criminal Convictions

The 6 May 2026 phase also formalises automatic disqualification provisions for individuals convicted of serious financial crimes — including money laundering, fraud, and dishonest misappropriation — who are found to be connected with a company. This aligns Singapore’s corporate governance framework with the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), whose Mutual Evaluation Report on Singapore was published on 6 May 2026 and broadly praised Singapore’s anti-money-laundering regime while noting the need for more proportionate penalties in serious cases.

The practical implication for directors: if you are a director of multiple companies — including companies in which you are not operationally active — you have an obligation to understand who is involved in those companies and to ensure there is no association with individuals who may trigger these disqualification provisions.

 

The Cumulative Picture for Directors in May 2026

When you step back and look at the regulatory landscape for Singapore company directors right now, the direction of travel is unmistakable:

• S$20,000 maximum fine for breaches of directors’ duties under Section 157 (from 6 May 2026)
• S$25,000 maximum fine for RORC and nominee register breaches (from June 2025)
• Automatic disqualification for three or more filing-related convictions within five years — applicable to every company in your portfolio, not just the one that triggered the breach
• Zero grace period for RORC setup for new companies (from June 2025)
• Automatic disqualification for certain serious financial crime convictions (from 6 May 2026)

These are not abstract compliance obligations for large corporations. They are enforceable rules that ACRA applies actively — and the evidence from its 2024 and 2025 prosecution records shows that it does.

What This Means in Practice: A Combined Action Checklist

Given that both of these changes took effect within days of each other, here is a combined action checklist for this week:

 

SSIC 2025 — Act within 14 days of 9 May 2026:

• [ ] Log into BizFile+ and check your auto-migrated SSIC 2025 code
• [ ] Verify that the code accurately reflects your principal revenue-generating activity
• [ ] If your business operates in tech, digital services, AI, sustainability, or content — check whether SSIC 2025 has a more specific code that better describes what you do
• [ ] If the auto-assigned code is inaccurate, file a change via BizFile+ (S$15 fee, effective immediately)
• [ ] Ensure consistency between your SSIC code, your website, and your banking records
• [ ] For any new incorporation from 9 May 2026: use SSIC 2025 codes in all filings

 

Corporate and Accounting Laws (Amendment) Act — ongoing:

• [ ] Brief all directors on the increased S$20,000 penalty under Section 157 — this is now in force
• [ ] Review minutes from recent board decisions: are they documented, do they reflect genuine deliberation, and do they demonstrate the required diligence?
• [ ] Check whether any co-directors or individuals associated with your companies have criminal records that could trigger the new disqualification provisions
• [ ] If you are a director of multiple companies, conduct a compliance audit across all entities — not just your primary one
• [ ] Ensure your company secretary has up-to-date records for all entities you are associated with

Why Staying On Top of This Is Harder Than It Looks

Both of these changes share a common characteristic: they are easy to miss, and the consequences of missing them accumulate quietly rather than announcing themselves immediately.

Your SSIC code sits in your ACRA profile, and unless you log in to check it, you will not know whether the auto-migration produced an accurate result. The mismatch between your code and your actual business may not cause an obvious problem today — but it may affect a grant application six months from now, or prompt questions from your bank during an account review next year.

The S$20,000 director penalty did not come with a personal notification. ACRA updated its legislation; it is now your obligation to know. The director who is unaware of the new penalty threshold is in exactly the same legal position as the one who is fully briefed.

This is the nature of compliance in Singapore. The framework is rigorous, predictable, and largely consistent — but it requires active engagement, not passive assumption.

How A1 Accounting Keeps You Ahead of These Changes

At A1 Accounting, staying current on Singapore’s regulatory changes is part of the service we provide to every client — not an optional extra.

When ACRA updates its frameworks, as it has twice in the past week, our clients hear about it from us before they read about it elsewhere. We review their company records, flag action items, and handle the filings. That is what it means to have a registered ACRA Filing Agent managing your corporate compliance, rather than trying to track every regulatory update yourself while running a business.

Whether you need a one-off SSIC code review and update, a full corporate compliance audit across multiple companies, an assessment of your directors’ current exposure under the updated Section 157 penalty regime, or simply an accountable professional keeping watch on your company’s compliance calendar — we are here.

 

Don’t let this week’s changes become next year’s problem.

📞 Get in Touch with A1 Accounting Today

📞 Call or WhatsApp: +65 8066 2238 (also available on WeChat, Line & Telegram) 📧 Email: [email protected] 🌐 Visit us at: acrafilingagent.com 📍 63 Jln Pemimpin, #02-03 Pemimpin Industrial Building, Singapore 577219

 

Reach out today for a no-obligation conversation about your company’s compliance position — including your SSIC code review and director governance obligations under the latest amendments.

Disclaimer: This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Regulatory obligations depend on your specific circumstances. For tailored advice, consult a qualified professional or refer directly to ACRA, IRAS, and MOM official portals.