Reporting Requirement for Regulated Dealers with effect from 1 January 2021

28 DEC 2020

In the Notice from the Registrar to regulated dealers on 14 December 2020, the Registrar of Regulated Dealers notified all regulated dealers that they are required to submit semi-annual returns related to their business and transactions with effect from 1 January 2021.

Background

The purpose of the Precious Stones and Precious Metals (Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing) Act 2019 (“PSPM Act”), is to combat money laundering and terrorism financing (“ML/TF”) in the precious stones and precious metals industry. In order for the Ministry of Law to better regulate and supervise the regulated dealers, reliable and timely information has to be collected from all regulated dealers. This will also benefit regulated dealers as it will strengthen safeguards and better protect the precious stones and precious metals dealers (“PSMD”) sector against ML/TF risks.

Content for Reporting

With effect from 1 January 2021, regulated dealers are required to submit mandatory semi-annual returns related to their business and transactions. The first reporting period will be from 1 January 2021 to 30 June 2021, and the first submission will be due within 30 days, i.e. by 30 July 2021. Regulated dealers should refer to the content for reporting set out by the Ministry of Law to understand the reporting requirement and ensure that the information are collected in the required format during the reporting period.

Mode of Submission

Regulated dealers will have to submit the semi-annual returns electronically through the upcoming e-Portal for regulated dealers. Details on the e-Portal will be announced in April/ May 2021.

Submission Periods

Regulated dealers are required to submit the returns twice each year during the following submission periods:

Reporting Period	Submission Period
1 January to 30 June	1 July to 30 July
1 July to 31 December	1 January to 30 January (of the following year)

Support for Regulated Dealers

Ministry of Law will be organising online trainings to provide guidance on the submission process. Assistance will also be provided to regulated dealers who encounter difficulty when submitting the returns through the e-Portal. We will share more details on the training sessions and assistance closer to the first submission period.

Frequently Asked Questions

We have collated a list of frequently asked questions received from industry associations and their members on the reporting requirement. Regulated dealers may wish to refer to these FAQs in the FAQ section.

FOR REGULATED DEALERS TO TAKE ACTION:

Regulated dealers are strongly encouraged to prepare the required information consistently throughout the six-month reporting period.
The semi-annual return has to be submitted to the Ministry of Law via the e-Portal within 30 days after the reporting period, e.g. by 30 July 2021 for period from 1 January 2021 to 30 June 2021.