Singapore VCC insights

VCC Grant Scheme (VCCGS): 30% co-funding mechanics: Documents required and templates

By VCC Editorial Team · Published 14 September 2026

The VCC Grant Scheme is a Monetary Authority of Singapore co-funding scheme that reimburses eligible fund managers up to 30 percent of qualifying work expenses incurred in incorporating or registering a Variable Capital Company, capped at S$30,000 per application, with a maximum of three VCCs per fund manager.

Raffles Corporate Services works with a panel of corporate and employment law firms; this article is general information, not legal advice.

What is the VCC Grant Scheme (VCCGS)?

The VCC Grant Scheme, commonly abbreviated to VCCGS, is a co-funding grant administered by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) under its broader schemes and initiatives supporting the Variable Capital Company framework. It was introduced alongside the VCCA to reduce the upfront cost of setting up a VCC and to encourage fund managers to domicile funds in Singapore rather than in offshore centres such as the Cayman Islands or the British Virgin Islands. Under the co-funding mechanics, MAS reimburses 30 percent of eligible work expenses, meaning the professional fees paid to Singapore-based service providers for legal, tax and administrative work directly related to incorporating or registering the VCC, up to a fixed cap per application. The scheme is designed as a partial offset against setup cost, not a full subsidy, and it does not cover the ongoing annual running cost stack of secretarial, audit, administration and custody fees once the VCC is operational.

Who is eligible for the VCC Grant Scheme

Eligibility centres on the fund manager rather than the VCC itself. The applicant must be a fund manager licensed or registered by MAS, meaning holders of a Capital Markets Services licence for fund management, or registered fund management companies, that intend to incorporate a new VCC or register an existing foreign corporate fund structure as a VCC. Each eligible fund manager may claim the co-funding grant for up to three VCCs, which matters for sponsors managing multiple umbrella structures or planning to launch several VCCs across different strategies over time. The work expenses being reimbursed must be for professional services rendered by Singapore-based service providers, meaning legal fees, tax advisory fees and administrative or corporate secretarial fees connected to the incorporation or registration exercise itself, rather than the fund’s ongoing operating costs.

Funds that are already operating as a VCC before applying, or that incorporate through non-Singapore intermediaries for the qualifying work, generally will not qualify for reimbursement of those particular costs, so it is important to apply for and structure the engagement with eligibility in mind from the outset rather than retrofitting the application after the fact.

Sponsors evaluating whether the VCC Grant Scheme applies to their situation should also confirm their fund manager’s licensing status is current at the time of application, since a lapsed or suspended Capital Markets Services licence, or a registered fund management company that has fallen out of good standing, will disqualify the application regardless of how the incorporation work itself was structured or documented.

The 30% co-funding mechanics in detail

The mechanics of the grant work as a reimbursement rather than an upfront subsidy. The fund manager first incurs and pays the qualifying work expenses to its Singapore service providers, then submits a claim to MAS with supporting invoices and proof of payment, and MAS reimburses 30 percent of the qualifying expenditure, subject to the cap. The following are indicative market ranges for the categories of cost typically included within a VCCGS application, as observed across Singapore corporate service providers and law firms as at 2026. These are not guaranteed figures and actual costs depend on the complexity of the structure and the provider engaged.

• Legal fees for drafting the VCC’s constitution and reviewing the incorporation documents: approximately S$15,000 to S$40,000 for a straightforward umbrella structure, more for complex multi sub-fund umbrellas or novel investment strategies.
• Tax advisory fees connected to the incorporation, including advice on the section 13O or 13U tax incentive application administered by the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore: approximately S$5,000 to S$15,000.
• Corporate secretarial and administrative fees for the incorporation exercise itself, distinct from the ongoing annual retainer: approximately S$3,000 to S$8,000.
• Illustrative reimbursement: on total qualifying expenses of S$60,000, a 30 percent co-funding rate returns S$18,000 to the fund manager, comfortably within the S$30,000 per-application cap; on qualifying expenses of S$100,000 or more, the reimbursement is capped at S$30,000 regardless of the higher spend.

Because the cap is applied per application and each fund manager may apply for up to three VCCs, a manager planning multiple VCC launches should sequence the applications carefully and keep separate, clean expense records for each VCC, since costs cannot generally be pooled across applications to exceed the per-VCC cap.

How the VCCGS interacts with the VCC’s broader cost profile

Sponsors sometimes treat the VCCGS as if it materially changes the overall economics of running a Singapore fund vehicle. In practice, the grant offsets only a portion of the upfront incorporation spend, and even at the maximum S$30,000 reimbursement, this is small relative to the multi-year cost of operating the VCC once it is registered. A single sub-fund VCC’s annual running cost stack of secretarial, audit, fund administration and custody fees will typically exceed the entire lifetime value of a VCCGS claim within twelve to eighteen months of the fund going live. This does not make the grant unimportant; a S$18,000 to S$30,000 reimbursement is a meaningful reduction in first-year cash outflow for a smaller or newer fund manager, particularly one launching its first VCC and still building its investor base. But sponsors should model the VCCGS as a one-off, capped credit against setup cost, not as an ongoing subsidy, and should build their multi-year budget around the full running cost stack rather than around the grant.

It is also worth noting that the constitution registration requirement under section 16(4) of the VCCA, which obliges the VCC to register its constitution with the Registrar, sits at the centre of both the incorporation process and the VCCGS claim. The legal fees for drafting and finalising this constitution are typically among the largest single qualifying expense category in a VCCGS application, since the constitution sets out the sub-fund structure, investor rights, cross-investment restrictions and segregation of assets and liabilities between sub-funds that make the VCC framework distinctive. Sponsors should expect their law firm to spend proportionately more time on this document than on an equivalent private limited company’s constitution, given the additional sub-fund mechanics that need to be addressed, and should factor this into both the legal fee estimate and the corresponding VCCGS claim.

Documents required and templates for a VCCGS application

A well-prepared VCCGS application moves faster through MAS review. Sponsors should assemble, or request templates for, the following before submitting a claim:

• Confirmation of the fund manager’s MAS licence or registration status (Capital Markets Services licence number or registered fund management company registration).
• The VCC’s ACRA BizFile registration extract confirming successful incorporation or registration.
• The VCC’s constitution, registered with the Registrar under section 16(4) of the VCCA, since incorporation and constitution costs are among the qualifying work expenses the grant helps offset.
• Itemised invoices from each Singapore-based service provider (law firm, tax adviser, corporate secretary) clearly describing the qualifying work performed.
• Proof of payment for each invoice, such as bank transfer confirmations or receipts.
• A completed VCCGS application form, submitted through the channel specified by MAS at the time of application.
• A cost summary template reconciling total work expenses claimed against the 30 percent co-funding calculation and the S$30,000 cap.
• Supporting declaration confirming the fund manager has not exceeded its three-VCC lifetime cap under the scheme.
• Confirmation that the VCC’s register of directors, secretaries and auditors is up to date, as required under section 71(1) of the VCCA (applying section 173 of the Companies Act 1967), since this register is among the incorporation records that evidence a properly constituted VCC behind the claim.

Step-by-step process for applying to the VCC Grant Scheme

1. Confirm eligibility as a MAS-licensed or registered fund manager and check how many VCCGS applications, if any, have already been made against the three-VCC cap.
2. Engage Singapore-based service providers for the incorporation legal work, tax advisory and corporate secretarial support, keeping the engagement scope and invoicing structured so qualifying and non-qualifying work are clearly separated.
3. Complete the VCC incorporation or registration process with ACRA, including registering the constitution under section 16(4) of the VCCA.
4. Collate itemised invoices and proof of payment for all qualifying work expenses.
5. Submit the co-funding claim to MAS with the completed application form and supporting documents.
6. Track the claim through MAS review and respond promptly to any requests for clarification or additional supporting documents, since incomplete applications are the most common cause of delay.
7. On approval, receive the 30 percent reimbursement, capped at S$30,000 per VCC, and retain all records for the fund manager’s own audit trail.

Processing timelines are not fixed by statute, but based on typical MAS grant processing patterns, sponsors should budget four to eight weeks from a complete submission to a funding decision, longer if supporting documents are incomplete or if MAS requests clarification on the qualifying nature of specific expenses.

Sponsors should also keep in mind that the VCCGS sits within a wider set of MAS schemes supporting the fund management industry, and eligibility criteria, caps and application channels can be updated by MAS from time to time. Before submitting a claim, it is good practice to confirm the current scheme parameters directly against MAS’s published materials rather than relying solely on secondary summaries, since caps and eligible expense categories have been refined since the scheme’s introduction alongside the VCCA.

Common mistakes and gotchas

The most common error is applying for the grant after already exceeding the S$30,000 cap in spending without realising the reimbursement will still be capped, leading sponsors to overestimate how much of their setup cost will be offset. A further gotcha worth flagging separately is timing: because the VCCGS reimburses expenses already paid, a fund manager with tight initial cash flow should not assume the grant proceeds will be available to fund the incorporation itself, since the claim can only be submitted, and processed, after the qualifying invoices have already been settled. Another frequent mistake is mixing qualifying incorporation-related work expenses with non-qualifying ongoing operational costs on the same invoice, which complicates the claim and can slow MAS review while the application is clarified. Sponsors also sometimes engage offshore rather than Singapore-based advisers for part of the incorporation work to save cost, not realising this portion of spend will not be eligible for co-funding at all. Finally, fund managers occasionally lose track of how many of their three lifetime VCCGS applications have been used, particularly in groups managing several related fund entities, so keeping a simple internal register of VCCGS claims made to date is good practice.

The VCCGS should also be considered alongside other MAS grant and scheme initiatives available to fund managers operating in Singapore. For managers also building out technology and compliance infrastructure, MAS’s Securities and Futures Act framework is worth understanding in parallel, and our Securities and Futures Act chapter explainers cover the regulatory chapters most relevant to licensed and registered fund managers. Fund managers with a technology or fintech angle to their business may also want to compare the VCCGS against MAS’s FSTI 4.0 fintech grant scheme, which operates on different governance and compliance requirements but shares the same underlying goal of subsidising Singapore-based professional infrastructure spend.

Related guides

Sponsors weighing the VCCGS against the broader cost of standing up a fund structure should also read our guide to VCC structures for private equity funds, which covers the documents and templates needed for a private equity mandate and how the grant interacts with typical private equity fund set-up costs. This article is best read together with our separate guides on the VCC annual running cost stack and fund administrator pricing, since the grant offsets only the initial setup cost, not the ongoing annual cost of operating the VCC once it is live.

FAQs

What percentage of costs does the VCC Grant Scheme cover? The VCC Grant Scheme reimburses 30 percent of eligible work expenses incurred in incorporating or registering a Variable Capital Company, up to a cap of S$30,000 per VCC application.

How many VCCs can a fund manager claim the grant for? Each eligible fund manager licensed or registered with MAS may claim the VCCGS co-funding grant for up to three separate VCCs over the lifetime of the scheme.

Does the VCC Grant Scheme cover ongoing running costs? No. The VCCGS reimburses a portion of the upfront work expenses connected to incorporation or registration only; it does not cover the VCC’s ongoing annual running cost stack of secretarial, audit, fund administration and custody fees once the structure is operational.

Who administers the VCC Grant Scheme? The VCC Grant Scheme is administered by the Monetary Authority of Singapore under its scheme of initiatives supporting the VCC framework, and applications are made directly to MAS with supporting documentation of the qualifying work expenses incurred.

Can offshore legal fees be included in a VCCGS claim? Generally no. The scheme is intended to support Singapore-based professional services, so work expenses paid to non-Singapore service providers for the incorporation or registration exercise are typically not eligible for the 30 percent co-funding reimbursement.

Need help with this? Call, SMS or WhatsApp +65 8501 7133, or email hello@rafflescorporateservices.com. Raffles Corporate Services works with a panel of corporate and employment law firms; this article is general information, not legal advice.