Audit and Compliance in Singapore, GST Audit in India – China Outbound

Our weekly round up of other news affecting foreign investors throughout Asia.

ASEAN BRIEFING

Audit and Compliance in Singapore: A Guide for Foreign Investors

Singapore makes it obligatory for registered businesses to hold annual general meetings, file annual financial statements, and to be officially audited. Businesses or business groups that are classified as ‘small’ are exempted from official audits.

Foreign investors should use the services of registered local advisers to ensure they stay compliant with the relevant regulations.

INDIA BRIEFING

GST Audit in India Begins for FY2018: What Businesses Should Know

Businesses in India must file their GST audit report for the financial year (FY) 2017-18 by January 31, 2020. For FY 2018-19, the last date to file the GST audit report is March 31, 2020.

This will be the first ever GST audit after the taxation system rolled out in July 2017. Tax authorities are now seeking an audit of the accounts and records for the first year of GST implementation, that is, 2017-18 from businesses across India.

The notice asks taxpayers to furnish 12 documents for audit purposes, including detailed records of GST forms, income tax papers, input service invoices, electronic cash/credit ledger, and business agreements of purchase and sale, among others.

RUSSIA BRIEFING

Russia-China Bilateral Trade Hit US$110 Billion in 2019 – What is China Buying?

Bilateral trade between Russia and China increased 3.4 percent in 2019, amounting to US$110.79 billion, according to the Chinese Administration of Customs. Trade was well balanced, with Chinese exports to Russia increasing to 3.6 percent and US$49.7 billion, while imports from Russia increased 3.2 percent to total US$61.05 billion.

In December alone, China imported US$5.53 billion worth of Russian goods and exported US$4.88 worth of its own goods to Russia, the data shows, and makes Russia China’s tenth largest market for foreign products. The Russian export to China trend has doubled in the past two years.

SILK ROAD BRIEFING

Using Your China WFOE / JV or Hong Kong Company to Access and Fund Investments into Russia and China’s Belt and Road Initiative

There are opportunities in Russia and the Belt and Road Initiative if international businesses chose to look for them. Using either your Hong Kong or mainland China operations to both search for these and structure them may be an easier route than looking at the Russian Far East from Europe or elsewhere, where it can seem a very long way away.

Flight times from Hong Kong to Vladivostok are just under five hours, from Shanghai three hours, and from Beijing two hours. It is well worth looking at, and Vladivostok also caters for foreign investors by offering six day e-visa access in addition to hosting the usual, China familiar array of free trade, export processing, and bonded zones, while also having free trade treaties with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia and Belarus – again, all Belt and Road nations.

VIETNAM BRIEFING

Vietnam Tax Update: Draft Decree on Tax Administration, Minimum Basic Wage and Personal Income Tax

The Ministry of Finance in December 2019, published the Draft Decree amending and supplementing Clause 3, Article 8 of Decree 20/2017/ND-CP. The Decree amends a regulated approach on determining the deductibility for interest expense for businesses engaging in related-party transactions.

This new decree is expected to directly affect companies that incur interest expenses from loan agreements with related parties.

• Previous Article US-China Phase One Deal: Washington Wants to Meet 30% of China’s Import Needs, Non-US Suppliers Will Need to Conduct Damage Assessments
• Next Article Digital Tax in Singapore, India’s Budget 2020 – China Outbound