The presentation shall dwell upon the importance of Double taxation avoidance agreement and purpose of certificate of residence(COR). The event would also throw light on what is COR, benefits of COR, eligibility of obtaining of COR, requisite documents and procedures for obtaining the same. Lastly, webinar would emphazise the importance of limitation of benefit clause in DTAA

1. Certificate of Residence in Singapore
CA. Jugal Gala

2. Credits and Acknowledgement
Viswanath D

3. Presentation Schema
DTAA
Purpose of
Certificate of
Residence (COR)
What is COR
Benefits of
Obtaining COR
Manner of
Obtaining COR
Eligible Entities to
Obtain COR
Criteria and Pre-
requisites
Steps to Authorise
Third Party
Control and
Management
Procedure to Apply
and Specified
Details Required
Duration
COR in Writing
(Special
circumstances)
Tax Reclaim Form
Limitation of
Benefit Clause

4. Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements (DTAA)
Singapore has entered into DTAA with most of its trade partners
It includes agreements with countries like India, China, New Zealand, Germany, Australia, etc.
This removes the imposition of similar taxes by two countries on the same tax payer on the same
tax base
DTAA are tax treaty with 2 or more countries to avoid taxing the same income in two different
locations

5. Purpose of Certificate of Residence (COR)
Source of
income lies
where the
services are
performed or
assets are
located.
Hence source
country has
the right to
tax
Resident
country has the
right to tax
global income
in and outside
the country of
a resident
Then income
may be taxed
both in source
and resident
country
To avoid
Double
taxation, relief
may be
claimed under
DTAA
To claim relief
under DTAA,
interalia, tax
residency
certificate/COR
is required
from the tax
authorities of
resident
country

6. What is Certificate of Residence
A COR is a letter certifying that a company is a tax resident of
Singapore, i.e. the control and management of its business is exercised
in Singapore.
• Issued by Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS)
• To companies registered in Singapore and individuals residing in
Singapore

7. Benefits of Obtaining COR
Utilization of benefits in
DTAA
Reduces working capital
shortage
Prevents unnecessary
litigations and
procedures
Facilitates exchange of
information
Strengthens trade
relationship
Fosters international
trade

8. Manner of Obtaining COR
COR
In writing
Online
Normal
circumstances
Special
circumstances

9. Eligible Entities to Obtain COR
Nominee
Company (acts
as a custodian
for beneficial
owners)
Foreign owned
investment
holding
companies
Non Singapore
Incorporated
Companies
Ineligible to
obtain COR
• To obtain a COR, a company or an
individual must be a tax resident
of Singapore
Eligible

10. Criteria and Pre-requisites
• Application of COR can be
either
• For the current year
• Upto 4 back calendar
years.
Period Control and management
• COR is granted to the company
only if the control and
management is in Singapore for
specified calendar year
• The company will need to
authorise its staff or a third party
(e.g. tax agent) for Corporate Tax
(Filing and Applications) in Corp
Pass before the staff / the third
party can log in and apply for COR
on behalf of the company

11. Log in to www.corpass.gov.sg and complete verification process
In the homepage under the third party tab, click “authorize third party entities”
Search for the third party you wish to authorize digital service access
Select the digital service to be authorized and respective roles
Steps to Authorise Third Party

12. Control and Management
It is the making of decisions on strategic matters such as on company policy
and strategy
Typically, the location of the company's Board of Directors meetings, during
which strategic decisions are made, is a key factor in determining where
the control and management is exercised.
Conversely, a company is a non-resident when the control and
management of the company is not exercised in Singapore.
The place of incorporation of a company is not necessarily indicative of the
tax residence of a company.

13. Procedure to Apply
Log in to myTax
portal of IRAS, and
select business tax
tab.
Application outcome
(receipt of
acknowledgement)
Log in with CorpPass
and complete
verification
Under Corporate tax
tab, apply for
certificate of residence
and fill in requisite
details (refer next slide)
41
2 3

14. Specified Details Required for Application
Is the company a
Singapore nominee
company
Declaration that control
and management is
exercised in Singapore
Calendar year for which
certification is required
Is the company a foreign
owned company
Nature of income
derived from treaty
country and name of
foreign person paying
such income
Treaty country

15. Duration
Within 7 working days, IRAS will process the
application and mail it to the company’s
registered address.
An option to download the approved COR
would also be available
IRAS may ask for clarifications to be provided
– If rejected, can be reapplied online

16. COR in Writing (Special Circumstances)
Circumstances
Apply for sole-
proprietorship owned
by the company
Apply for partnership
business of which
company is partner
Non Singapore
incorporate
companies
The control and management should be mandatorily in Singapore
for the above mentioned entities

17. Duration
Within 14 working days, IRAS will process
the application and mail it to the company’s
registered address.
IRAS may take longer time,
in case of any complexities

18. Tax Reclaim Form – Optional Requirement
A Singapore tax resident company may additionally require tax reclaim form along
with COR to claim treaty benefits
The tax reclaim form may require certification by IRAS, as a Singapore Competent
Authority, that certain conditions such as Singapore tax residency status is met
before it can be submitted to the foreign tax authority

19. Process Involved
After completing the tax
reclaim form, forward the
original signed form to IRAS
If the tax reclaim form is
incomplete, a properly
completed form should be
resubmitted upon intimation
IRAS will process tax reclaim
forms within 1 month and
would send certified tax
reclaim form and a cover
letter to company’s
registered address

20. Limitation of Benefits Clause
This provision limits
the benefits of
favorable tax
treaties
To prevent abuse of
treaty benefits and
treaty shopping,
anti abusive
provisions were
introduced.
With introduction
of DTAAs,
companies to
reduce/evade tax
liability started
exploiting tax
treaties.
Obtaining COR alone
would not allow a
person to claim
benefits of DTAA
Tax treaties would
provide for limitation of
benefit clause which
may also provide
additional conditions
for obtaining treaty
benefits

21. Relevant Article in Few DTAAs
Singapore- India UAE- Singapore
• As per Article 24, if an income is
exempt or subject to reduced tax in
Contracting State as per the tax treaty
and
• The same income is subject to tax in
other contracting state
• Then benefit under this treaty in first
mentioned Contracting State shall be
allowed only to the extent it is
remitted to or received in other
Contracting State.
• As per Article 22, if an income is
exempt or subject to reduced tax in
UAE as per the tax treaty and
• The same income is subject to tax in
Singapore
• Then benefit under DTAA shall be
allowed only to the extent of amount
which is remitted to or received in
Singapore.
Limitation of benefit clause in some of the DTAA entered by Singapore

22. Illustration
Mr. A
(Teacher)/
Resident of
Singapore
University (UAE)
Visits
Solely for the
purpose of teaching
in an university for 4
months
Remuneration (taxable
in Singapore)
As per Article 19 of
Singapore and UAE,
remuneration received
from such teaching
shall be exempt in UAE
However as per Article
22, remuneration shall
be exempt only when
it is remitted to
Singapore

23. Thank You
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