Cessation of Alternative Arrangements for Meetings on 1 July 2023

30 JUN 2023

30 June 2023 Posted in Press releases

  1. The COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) (Alternative Arrangements for Meetings) Orders (the “Meetings Orders”), which temporarily enabled entities to convene, hold or conduct meetings through electronic means during the COVID-19 pandemic, will cease on 1 July 2023. Entities should take note of this, and ensure that arrangements are in place to facilitate their business and governance needs.

Background

  1. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Meetings Orders under the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Act 2020 provided entities with a temporary option to hold virtual meetings even if this was not allowed under applicable laws or legal instrument.1
  1. The Ministry of Law (“MinLaw”) announced in December 2022 that the Meetings Orders will be revoked on 1 July 2023.2 Entities were advised to take guidance from their respective applicable law, governing legal instrument, or regulators as to the arrangements for meetings on or after 1 July 2023.

Latest Meeting Arrangements

  1. With the cessation of the Meetings Orders, entities should resume meeting arrangements in accordance with applicable law or their governing instruments.
  1. The latest guidance from the respective regulators are summarised below:
Types of Entities Guidance Regulator
a) Companies
b) Variable Capital Companies
c) Business Trusts
d) Unit Trusts
e) Debenture Holders		 From 1 July 2023, entities are allowed to hold fully virtual or hybrid general meetings, under the Companies, Business Trusts and Other Bodies (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2023.
For more information, please visit here.
The above notwithstanding, listed issuers shall not hold fully virtual general meetings. Such companies shall only hold either fully physical or hybrid general meetings.
For more information, please visit here.		 For enquires pertaining to listed issuers, please email SGX at listingcompliance@sgx.com.
For enquiries pertaining to non-listed companies, please contact the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (“ACRA”) here or ACRA Helpdesk at 6224 6088.
For enquires pertaining to non-listed business trusts and non-listed unit trusts, please email the Monetary Authority of Singapore (“MAS”) at webmaster@mas.gov.sg.
For enquiries pertaining to variable capital companies, please contact both ACRA and MAS.
f) Bankrupts
g) Insolvent corporate entities		 Relevant officeholders (e.g., trustees in bankruptcy and liquidators) can conduct virtual meetings with creditors and members of a company or individual3, under the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act (“IRDA”) 2018.
For more information, please visit here.		 For enquiries pertaining to corporate insolvency and bankruptcy, please contact MinLaw’s Insolvency & Public Trustee Office via the online enquiry form here.
h) Charities
i) Co-operative societies
j) Mutual benefit organisations
k) Registered societies
l) School management committees and governing boards
m) Trade unions
n) Town councils		 Entities are not prohibited from conducting virtual meetings under their existing governing legislation.
Entities that wish to conduct virtual meetings or use other alternative arrangements may wish to amend their applicable legal instruments (e.g. constitution) to expressly provide for meetings to be held virtually.		 For enquiries pertaining to charities, please contact the Ministry of Culture, Community & Youth (“MCCY”), Charities Unit at MCCY_Charities@mccy.gov.sg.
For enquiries pertaining to co-operative societies please contact MCCY’s Registry of Co-operative Societies at MCCY_Regcoop@mccy.gov.sg.
For enquiries pertaining to mutual benefit organisations, please contact MCCY’s Registry of Mutual Benefit Organisations at MCCY_Regmbo@mccy.gov.sg.
For enquiries pertaining to registered societies, please contact the Ministry of Home Affairs (“MHA”)’s Registry of Societies at mha_ros_feedback@mha.gov.sg.
For enquiries pertaining to school management committees and governing boards, please contact the Ministry of Education via the online feedback form here.
For enquiries pertaining to registered trade unions, please contact the Ministry of Manpower (“MOM”), Registry of Trade Unions at mom_lrwd@mom.gov.sg.
For enquiries pertaining to town councils, please contact the Ministry of National Development at mnd_hq@mnd.gov.sg.
o) Management corporations
p) Subsidiary management corporations
q) Collective sale committees		 From 1 July 2023, management corporations, subsidiary management corporations, and collective sale committees are allowed to hold fully virtual or hybrid meetings pursuant to the Building Maintenance and Strata Management Act (Amendment of First and Second Schedules) Order 2023 and the Land Titles (Strata) Act (Amendment of Second and Third Schedules) Order 2023.
For more information on general meetings of management corporations (Other than for purposes of collective sale) and general meetings of subsidiary management corporations, please visit here.
For more information on general meetings of management corporations for the purposes of collective sale or meetings of collective sale committees, please visit here.		 For enquiries pertaining to general meetings for en bloc sales and meetings of collective sale committees, please contact MinLaw via the online enquiry form here.
For all other enquiries relating to management corporations, please contact the Building and Construction Authority (“BCA”) via the online enquiry form here.
  1. For further information and enquiries, entities may check the websites of or approach their respective regulators listed above.

MINISTRY OF LAW
30 June 2023

1. For more information on the Meetings Orders, please refer to MinLaw’s press releases on 31 March 2020, 7 September 2020, 29 September 2020 and 6 April 2021. ↩

2. Please refer to MinLaw’s press release on 15 December 2022. ↩

3. Such individuals or entities must have entered into a voluntary arrangement or have been made bankrupt or entered into debt restructuring or wound up under the relevant provisions of the IRDA. ↩

Last updated on 30 June 2023