THE Ministry of Finance (MOF) and the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (Iras) on Friday (Nov 3) launched a public consultation to amend the Iras Act for the purpose of administering broad-based grants to businesses.

Proposed amendments include the appointment of Iras as administrator of scheduled public schemes for, and on behalf of, the Singapore government or a statutory body.

Another proposed amendment provides Iras with the authority to collect information from enterprises and individuals, and to investigate potential violations such as misrepresentation of information and fraud.

This will enable Iras to conduct an audit or investigation effectively, said both parties.

Iras is also looking into defining misrepresentation of information as an offence, and seeking to introduce penalties to deter fraud and abuse, including penalties for fraud and abuse of enterprise grants.

Other administrative amendments may be incorporated to grant Iras the power to compound offences under the Iras Act.

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These proposed changes have been set out in the Iras (Amendment) Bill, which is available for public consultation until Nov 19.

The public may access the consultation documents on MOF’s website and the Reach consultation portal, and submit their comments via FormSG at go.gov.sg/iras-bill.

Comments received during the consultation exercise will be reviewed.

If accepted, these will be incorporated into the Bill to be introduced in Parliament.