News

The European Union (EU) announced the inclusion of Hong Kong in its watchlist on tax cooperation effective from 5 October 2021.  The EU considered that the non-taxation of certain foreign-sourced passive income in Hong Kong might lead to situations of “double non-taxation”; in particular, the EU was concerned that corporates with no substantial economic activity […]

In the continuous effort to transit to a new normal, the Singapore Multi Ministry Taskforce and the Ministry of Health have updated the Travel Protocols and allow the entry of fully vaccinated persons from certain countries into Singapore for general travel. Extended Vaccinated Travel Lanes Earlier in September 2021, Singapore launched the Vaccinated Travel Lanes […]

As part of the regular reviews of the border measures, the Singapore Multi Ministry Taskforce and the Ministry of Health have updated the country risk classification and the border measures. For travellers entering in Singapore from 7 October 2021 the new measures will be as follows: The prevailing border measures for incoming travellers will be […]

The Singapore Multi Ministry Taskforce has been closely monitoring the global Covid-19 situation and continues to update the country risk classification and the border measures. Specifically, the Taskforce has updated the Country risk classifications as follow: Category II: Poland and Saudi Arabia has been included in this category. Travellers from these countries may apply to […]

The Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents, signed at The Hague on 5 October 1961 (also known as the “Apostille Convention”), which replaces the legalization of foreign public documents (such as court documents, official certificates, and identity documents; etc.) with a simplified one-step process, was introduced in Singapore on 16 September 2021. […]

From 10 September 2021 all travellers, apart from those entering from Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and Mainland China, must produce a negative pre-departure Covid-19 PCR test result taken within 48 hours before departure to Singapore.  Previously, the requirement had been for the test to be taken 72 hours before travel. Travellers entering Singapore will still be […]

To support enterprises in exploring more diversified markets, the Government has further injected $1.5 billion into the Dedicated Fund on Branding, Upgrading and Domestic Sales (the “BUD Fund”) and launched a new round of enhancement measures by phases starting from July 2021.  The enhancement measures include extending the geographical coverage of the Fund to include […]

In the previous episode, we have discussed how the restricted international travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic may affect the tax positions of companies, and the guidance provided by the Hong Kong Inland Revenue Department (“IRD”) on its approach to deal with corporate tax issues relating to tax residency, permanent establishment and transfer pricing.  The […]

The Hong Kong Inland Revenue Department (“IRD”) has recently provided some guidance on its approach to tax issues relating to tax residency, permanent establishment and transfer pricing arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.  We briefly summarize here below the guidance issued by the IRD. Tax Residence of Companies Since the Covid-19 pandemic has restricted international travel, […]

From 10 August 2021, the Ministry of Manpower will resume entry approvals for fully vaccinated work pass holders and their dependants with travel history to higher risk countries/ regions.  Eligible work pass holders and their dependants are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after having received the full regimen of Pfizer-BioNTech/ Comirnaty, Moderna or World Health […]