Q1 My firm has received a survey conducted by the Department of Statistics. Is it compulsory to submit the survey return? Could I be exempted?
The survey is conducted under the Statistics Act 1973 which requires firms to provide the information requested. Each firm’s participation in the survey is crucial to ensure that the economic and business statistics are representative across the respective industries or sectors.
Q2 How do you ensure that the information submitted by me is kept confidential?
Our surveys are conducted under the Statistics Act 1973 (“Statistics Act”) and your firm’s responses will be safeguarded in accordance with the Act and the scope of any consent provided by your firm.
Q3 Why is there a need to conduct business surveys?
The objective of our business surveys is to obtain the latest information for the compilation of economic and business statistics that would enable policymakers and stakeholders to monitor industry performance and Singapore’s international transactions.
Q4 Why is my firm selected?
Our department’s business surveys collect information of business entities registered in Singapore for the compilation of economic and business statistics. Our business surveys are sample surveys and data of small, medium and large firms are equally important to ensure that the compiled statistics are representative.
Q5 My business is small with low turnover. Should I be covered in the survey?
Data of small, medium and large firms are equally important to us to ensure that the economic and business statistics compiled are representative across the respective industries or sectors.
Q6 Can I request for an extension in the submission of my survey return?
We understand that firms may require a little more time to complete the survey. Please log in to the DOS E-Survey, and click “Apply Extension”.
Q7 My firm was not in operation during the reference period of the survey. Do I need to submit the survey?
If your firm was not in operation / has no revenue during the survey reference period, please inform the officer-in-charge in writing. The officer-in-charge is indicated under the information icon after you log into our DOS E-Survey.
Q8 Can I provide preliminary figures if my audited accounts are not ready yet?
Yes, you can provide preliminary figures or your best estimates if the audited accounts for the reference period are not ready by the survey due date. Please provide your final figures if there are there are large changes from the preliminary set.
Q9 Can you compensate me for filling in your survey?
DOS does not reimburse respondents for completing the surveys. However, if you encounter any difficulty in filling out the form, we would be happy to assist you.
Q10 I have filed my firm’s financial information with IRAS / ACRA. Do I still need to submit my returns?
We appreciate the time and resources firms take to complete our surveys and have reduced the number of surveys sent to firms through the use of administrative data. However, for details that are not available from the administrative records, we will need to collect them through our various surveys.
Q11 My firm has submitted the required information. How can I verify that the submission was successful?
You may check on the completion status by logging in to DOS E-Survey, and clicking on the “Submitted” button. An acknowledgement message will appear if you click on the submission date.
Q12 Could my company provide estimates as we do not have some of the exact figures available?
If exact figures are unavailable, please provide your best estimates.