89.—(1) When the affairs of a society, in respect of which a liquidator has been appointed, have been wound up or, where no liquidator has been appointed, either 2 months after the making of a winding up order under section 83 by the Registrar or after confirmation of the order on appeal, the Registrar must make an order cancelling the registration of the society and the society is dissolved and ceases to exist as a body corporate starting on the date of the order.
[3/2018]
(2) The claim of a creditor or a member of the society who has not received what is due to the creditor or the member of the society (as the case may be) under the approved scheme of distribution is proscribed 2 years after the date of cancellation of registration, and a notice of closure of liquidation and cancellation of registration must be published in the Gazette.
[3/2018]
(3) Any moneys remaining after the application of the funds to the purposes specified in section 88 and any sums unclaimed after 2 years under subsection (2) must not be divided among the members, except in the case of the liquidation of a secondary society or a co-operative apex organisation, but must be carried to the Co-operative Societies Liquidation Account kept by the Registrar.
(4) Despite subsection (3) —
(a)
where the members of a society have approved at a general meeting prior to the winding up of the society that all or any part of the remaining moneys of the society and unclaimed sums (if any) mentioned in that subsection (collectively called the relevant surplus) be applied to one or more charitable purposes or donated to one or more charities; and
(b)
the Registrar has approved that the whole or part of the relevant surplus be applied to all or any of those charitable purposes or donated to all or any of those charities, as the case may be,
the whole or part of the relevant surplus approved by the Registrar is not to be transferred to the Co‑operative Societies Liquidation Account, but must be applied or donated in accordance with the Registrar’s approval.
[3/2018]
(5) Any moneys or sums transferred to the Co‑operative Societies Liquidation Account may be utilised for all or any of the following purposes as the Minister may from time to time direct:
(a)
for transfer to the Central Co‑operative Fund;
(b)
for the costs of engaging a statutory manager or statutory adviser appointed under section 94(1) or 94A(1), including (but not limited to) the remuneration or fee of the statutory manager or statutory adviser, and any disbursements reasonably incurred in the performance of the duties of the statutory manager or statutory adviser;
(c)
for the resolution of financial instability in, or an imminent serious threat to the financial stability of, a credit society or a class of credit societies;
(d)
for the costs of and in relation to the liquidation of a society in a particular case;
(e)
generally for the furtherance of co‑operative principles in such manner as the Minister may determine.
[3/2018]
(6) The interest accruing in respect of any sum carried to the Co‑operative Societies Liquidation Account in accordance with subsection (3) may be applied for such of the purposes specified in subsection (5) as the Minister may from time to time direct.
(7) In this section —
“charitable purpose” means a purpose which is exclusively charitable according to the law of Singapore;
“charity” means a charity as defined in section 2(1) of the Charities Act 1994, whether or not registered under that Act.