SINGAPORE: The Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) will restore its Bizfile search function next week, but it will not show National Registration Identity Card (NRIC) numbers.
The change, announced on Thursday (Dec 19), comes after public anger over the Bizfile portal revealing NRIC numbers in their entirety in search results.
Users who want to view NRIC numbers and other information of people in ACRA’s Bizfile directory will have to pay S$33 (US$24) for each profile.
The change will make it less convenient for Bizfile users, who will not be able to easily identify the specific individual they’re looking for, said Second Minister for Finance Indranee Rajah.
After assessing the situation, the authorities think this was the “right balance to strike between corporate transparency and public concerns regarding personal information”, she said at a press conference alongside Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo and ACRA chief executive Chia-Tern Huey Min.
“We will continue to monitor feedback on the Bizfile portal and will review and update the Bizfile on an ongoing basis,” she said.
ACRA’s Bizfile portal contains a repository of information relating to business entities and the people behind these entities. This database can be accessed by those who wish to conduct checks.
