Registers
12.—(1)  The Registrar shall, subject to this Act, keep such registers as he considers necessary in such form as he thinks fit.
(2)  Any person may, on payment of the prescribed fee —
(a)inspect any document, or if there is a microfilm of any such document, that microfilm, filed or lodged with the Registrar;
(b)subject to subsection (2AA), require a copy of the notice of incorporation of a company, any certificate issued under this Act, any document or extract from any document kept by the Registrar to be given or certified by the Registrar;
(c)inspect any register of directors, chief executive officers, secretaries or auditors kept by the Registrar under section 173(1) or require a copy of or an extract from any such register; or
(d)inspect the register of members of any private company kept by the Registrar under section 196A or require a copy of or an extract from any such register.
[Act 36 of 2014 wef 03/01/2016]
(2AA)  A certificate of confirmation of incorporation referred to in section 17(9) or 19(7) may only be issued to the company upon an application made in accordance with those provisions.
[Act 36 of 2014 wef 03/01/2016]
(2A)  Subsection (2)(a), (b) and (d) shall not apply to such exempt private company that is wholly owned by the Government as the Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, specify where he considers that it would not be in the public interest for —
(a)any document relating to any such company maintained by the Registrar in whatever form to be inspected by any member of the public; and
(b)any certificate or copy of or extract from any document relating to any such company to be given or certified to any member of the public.
[22/93]
[Act 36 of 2014 wef 03/01/2016]
(2B)  Notwithstanding the cancellation of any notification referred to in subsection (2A) in respect of a company, subsection (2)(a), (b) and (d) shall not apply to any document or certificate relating to that company that is filed or lodged with the Registrar, or issued under the Act, before the date of such cancellation, whether or not that company remains an exempt private company wholly owned by the Government, and whether or not it has been wound up.
[12/2002]
[Act 36 of 2014 wef 03/01/2016]
(2C)  Notwithstanding subsection (2), a director, chief executive officer, secretary, auditor or member of a company may, without charge —
(a)inspect the register of directors, register of chief executive officers, register of secretaries and register of auditors of that company kept by the Registrar under section 173(1); or
(b)obtain from the Registrar a copy of or an extract from the register of directors, register of chief executive officers, register of secretaries and register of auditors of that company kept by the Registrar under section 173(1).
[Act 36 of 2014 wef 03/01/2016]
(2D)  Notwithstanding subsection (2), a director, chief executive officer, secretary, auditor or member of a private company may, without charge —
(a)inspect the register of members of that company kept by the Registrar under section 196A; or
(b)obtain from the Registrar a copy of or an extract from the register of members of that company kept by the Registrar under section 196A.
[Act 36 of 2014 wef 03/01/2016]
Evidentiary value of copies certified by Registrar
(3)  A copy of or an extract from any document (including a copy produced by way of microfilm) filed or lodged with the Registrar using a non-electronic medium that is certified to be a true copy or extract by the Registrar shall in any proceedings be admissible in evidence as of equal validity with the original document.
[Act 36 of 2014 wef 03/01/2016]
Evidence of statutory requirements
(4)  In any legal proceedings, a certificate issued by the Registrar that a requirement of this Act specified in the certificate —
(a)had or had not been complied with at a date or within a period specified in the certificate; or
(b)had been complied with upon a date specified in the certificate but not before that date,
shall be received as prima facie evidence of the matters specified in the certificate.
[Act 36 of 2014 wef 03/01/2016]
Registrar may refuse to register or receive document
(5)  If the Registrar is of the opinion that any document submitted to him —
(a)contains any matter contrary to law;
(b)by reason of any omission or misdescription has not been duly completed;
(c)does not comply with the requirements of this Act; or
(d)contains any error, alteration or erasure,
he may refuse to register or receive the document and request that the document be appropriately amended or completed and resubmitted or that a fresh document be submitted in its place.
Destruction or transfer of old records
(6)  If the Registrar is of the opinion that it is no longer necessary or desirable to retain any document lodged, filed or registered with the Registrar and which has been microfilmed or converted to electronic form, the Registrar may —
(a)destroy the document with the authorisation of the National Library Board under section 14D of the National Library Board Act (Cap. 197); or
(b)transfer the document to the National Archives of Singapore under section 14C of that Act.
[Act 36 of 2014 wef 03/01/2016]
(7)  In subsection (3), “non-electronic medium” means a medium other than the electronic transaction system established under Part VIA of the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority Act.
[Act 36 of 2014 wef 03/01/2016]