IRAS | Partnership with tax agents

Enhanced IRAS-Tax Agent Relationship

IRAS recognises tax agents as our partners in administering the Singapore tax system and in facilitating tax compliance. Tax agents' close relationships with clients give them valuable insights into business needs and concerns, making them an important source of feedback for IRAS. This feedback helps IRAS formulate and refine tax policies and practices.

IRAS shares common goals with tax agents: helping taxpayers meet their obligations voluntarily and supporting business growth through effective tax policy. IRAS has thus developed the Enhanced IRAS-Tax Agent Relationship Framework to strengthen partnership and collaboration between tax agents and IRAS, particularly in the area of training and improving the competence of tax agents.

Principles and strategies

The Enhanced IRAS-Tax Agent Relationship Framework is built on 3 principles:

1. Mutually beneficial – Both parties stand to gain from the enhanced relationship.

2. Balanced – Both parties are committed towards enhancing the relationship achieving the common goals of the partnership and contributing towards its success.

3. Underpinned by openness, transparency and trust – Both parties should be open and transparent in their practices and dealings with each other, building trust and mutual respect. When sensitive areas arise, each side can be confident that the other will handle them with care and integrity.

The framework is supported by 4 strategies:

1. Profiling tax agents – Understand tax agent’s practices and needs.

2. Facilitating growth of competence – Improve tax agent’s capabilities.

3. Improving communication and service – Enable greater value for both taxpayers and tax agents.

4. Consulting and collaborating – Facilitate tax agent’s greater contribution to the tax system.

To fulfil these strategies, IRAS and tax agents can work together in the following ways:

Strategy	Actions by IRAS	Actions by tax agents
Profiling tax agents	Deepen its understanding of tax agents’ businesses and needs through regular discussions with the Singapore Chartered Tax Professionals (SCTP), focusing on tax compliance and administrative procedures.	Participate and provide feedback when IRAS seeks inputs to understand tax agents' practices and needs.
Facilitating growth of competence	Help tax agents strengthen their capabilities by conducting seminars and workshops.	Recognise the importance of ongoing training and development, and set aside time and budget to continually upgrade technical competency. Keep up-to-date with tax changes and developments.
Improving communication and service	Aid tax agents in delivering greater value to their clients by: Maintaining a tax agent webpage for easier access to information and improve depth and breadth of information available to tax agents. Facilitating use of digital services.	Be open to adopting new digital services. Participate in pilot testing of digital services to help improve them.
Consulting and collaborating	Actively engage tax agents through surveys, consultations and focus group sessions on: Designing of policies. Refining of rules. Crafting of legislation.	To provide inputs on tax rules and policies through consultation documents, focus groups etc. Be proactive in engaging IRAS to resolve technical or compliance issues.

Expectations of IRAS and tax agents under the Enhanced IRAS-Tax Agent Relationship Framework

IRAS	Tax agents
Recognise that tax agents have a commercial relationship with their clients and will always put their clients first. Handle tax matters with fairness and integrity. Be competent and act ethically and professionally in all dealings with tax agents and taxpayers.	Conduct their practice with integrity. Be competent and act ethically and professionally in providing quality service and advice to their clients. Provide tax advice within the letter and the spirit of the tax laws. Be compliant in their own tax matters.

Consequences of non-compliance by tax agents

IRAS will not hesitate to take action against errant tax agents or accountants who are non-compliant in their own tax matters or provide objectionable tax advice to their clients. Heavy penalties will be imposed for assisting others to defraud the Government or citizens.

Examples of past cases on non-compliance by tax agents and the actions taken by IRAS include:

Date	Summary
Jun 2019	Tax agent to pay more than $80,000 in fines and penalties for assisting client in avoiding GST registration
Apr 2015	CPA sentenced to 6 Weeks' Jail for Tax Evasion
Apr 2012	CPA fined for under-reporting income
Feb 2011	First CPA charged for assisting company to evade tax
Apr 2009	First practising Certified Public Accountant jailed for tax evasion

Contacting IRAS

For case-specific enquiries, please email IRAS via myTax Portal using your Corppass.

To facilitate communication between IRAS and tax agents, please provide the direct number of the tax advisor and/or tax manager handling the tax matters in your correspondences with IRAS. This will help our officers contact the right person in the relevant tax agent firm.