Garnishee Order Against Company in Singapore: What to Do When Your Business Is Served

Short answer: If a Singapore court order attaches money your company owes to someone else, you are the “non-party” (the old “garnishee”). Do not pay the debtor, record what you owed at the time of service, and take legal advice at once. Any objection must be filed within 14 days of service of the notice of attachment.

Receiving a garnishee order against company funds usually starts with a letter from the Sheriff, or a call from your bank, saying that a debt you owe has been attached to satisfy a judgment against somebody else. This guide explains what the order is under the Rules of Court 2021, what it catches and what it does not, the deadlines for objecting, and how the board and company secretary should respond while the company’s solicitor handles the court side.

Raffles Corporate Services works with a panel of experienced Singapore law firms who offer cost-effective and efficient legal service and advice. This article is general information only and is not legal advice.

What is a garnishee order against company debts under the Rules of Court 2021?

It is a court-authorised step that redirects money you owe the judgment debtor to the judgment creditor. Since the ROC 2021 took effect, the Singapore Courts describe the former garnishee order as an enforcement order for attachment of a debt, and the person it is issued against is called a non-party.

The Singapore Courts’ digest on enforcement under the ROC 2021 explains that all methods of enforcement are now consolidated into a single enforcement order, taken out by the “enforcement applicant” against the “enforcement respondent” (the judgment debtor). Your company sits in a third position: it is neither side of the original dispute, but it owes the enforcement respondent a debt, so it is served with a notice of attachment.

A High Court Assistant Registrar held in Mitsui E&S Power Systems Inc v Neptun International Pte Ltd [2024] SGHCR 3 (neutral citation, unreported) that the law on attachment of debts under the ROC 2021 is in substance the same as the earlier law on garnishee proceedings. Older garnishee case law therefore remains relevant, but be careful with guides written for the earlier Rules.

What does the attachment catch, and what can it not reach?

It catches a debt your company owes the judgment debtor that is payable now or will become payable under an obligation that already exists. It cannot catch a debt that depends on an event that has not happened.

Order 22 rule 2(2)(c) authorises the Sheriff to attach a debt due to the enforcement respondent from any non-party, whether immediately, at some future date or at certain intervals, including a deposit with a financial institution whether or not it has matured and despite any restriction on withdrawal. In Mitsui, the court stated that the key is a present and existing obligation to pay a sum of money, and that contingent debts, which do not exist until a triggering event occurs, are not attachable. A useful but not infallible test is whether the debt is actionable, meaning whether the debtor could sue for it.

Whether a particular sum is a debt, a contingent debt or someone else’s property is a question for your solicitor, who will read the contract and the facts.

Who is the non-party, and when can an order be made against your company?

Any person that owes a debt to the enforcement respondent can be a non-party, including a company, a bank or another financial institution. The judgment creditor does not need your consent.

The enforcement applicant applies to the Court by summons without notice, not earlier than 3 days after the underlying court order has been served on the judgment debtor (Order 22 rule 2(3)). Because the application is without notice, your company normally learns of it only when the Sheriff serves the notice of attachment. The affidavit supporting the application must include a written undertaking to indemnify the Sheriff and to pay the Sheriff’s charges and expenses (Order 22 rule 2(4)(m)), which is a cost the enforcement applicant gives the undertaking for.

What should the company do on the day the notice of attachment arrives?

Freeze the debt, record the facts and call your solicitor. Those three steps protect the company whatever the outcome.

1. Log the date and time of service and keep the envelope, email or courier slip. The 14-day objection period runs from service of the notice of attachment, so the date matters. If the papers were served at the registered office, see our note on service of documents at your registered office.
2. Read the notice and the enforcement order. Note the debtor’s name, the case number, the maximum sum stated and the debts it refers to.
3. Ask accounts to extract every amount owed to the named debtor on the date of service: invoices, credit balances, deposits, unpaid claims, retention sums and sums falling due later. Separate what is due now, what is due later and what is contingent.
4. Stop payments to the debtor on those amounts. Paying the debtor after service is the risky step. In Mitsui the bank argued it might have to pay twice, and the court shaped the order with conditions to protect it. Do not assume a court will do the same for a company that paid out anyway.
5. Instruct a Singapore Advocate and Solicitor. The company’s response, any notice of objection and any court application are handled by the solicitor.
6. Hold a board meeting or circulate a directors’ resolution that authorises the response, appoints the solicitor and names who may speak to the Sheriff and the creditor.

How and when can the company object to the attachment?

The objector files a notice of objection within 14 days of service of the notice of attachment. The objector may be the debtor, the non-party or anyone else who claims an interest.

The Singapore Courts’ digest sets out the sequence under Order 22 rule 10. The objector files the notice and serves a copy on the enforcement applicant, the enforcement respondent (if not the objector) and any non-party served (if not the objector). The enforcement applicant then has 14 days to consent in writing to the release of the specified debt from attachment. If the applicant does not consent, or gives notice of dispute, the Sheriff may direct the objector to apply to the Court for release. The objector must then apply by summons supported by an affidavit within 7 days of the Sheriff’s direction, or the objection is deemed withdrawn. The summons and affidavit must be served at least 7 days before the hearing, and the Sheriff must be told the case and application numbers.

Possible grounds, which your solicitor must assess, include that no debt existed at the time of service, that the debt was contingent, that the sum is not owed to the judgment debtor, or that a third party has a claim to the money. A company that simply owes less than the amount stated can say so and let the attachment bite only to the extent of the real debt.

What if a police or other order already restricts the money?

A restriction on dealing with the money does not automatically defeat the attachment, but it can stop the money from being released. The court separated the two stages in Mitsui.

In that case the Commercial Affairs Department had directed a bank not to allow dealings with an account under section 35(2)(b) of the Criminal Procedure Code 2010. The Assistant Registrar held that the direction did not extinguish the creditor-debtor relationship, so the money remained attachable, but the bank could not pay it to the Sheriff or the creditor until the police direction was lifted or the outcome of any disposal inquiry was known. The court noted that paying out while such a direction is in force would be an offence under section 35(6). If your company holds funds under a police direction, tell your solicitor immediately.

What documents does the company need to prepare?

Gather the corporate record and the evidence of the debt before your solicitor drafts anything. The table lists the usual items.

How long does it take and what does it cost?

The fixed periods come from the rules, but the total time depends on whether anyone objects. Costs are mostly your solicitor’s fees, which we cannot quote without the facts.

What happens after the court’s decision?

If the attachment stands, the company pays what the order requires and keeps the evidence. If the attachment is released, the company may continue to deal with the debt in the ordinary way.

Orders can be conditional. In Mitsui, the Assistant Registrar ordered the bank to transfer the money, up to the maximum sum in the enforcement order, to the Sheriff for commission due and to the creditor for the balance within 21 days of the conditions being met, unless there was a dispute, pending disposal inquiry proceedings or another order to pay someone else. That order turned on its own facts, but it shows why your solicitor should read the final order before any payment is made.

The judgment debtor may also apply for a stay of enforcement where there is a special case making immediate enforcement inappropriate (Order 22 rule 13). The Court may then direct the Sheriff to maintain the attachment without taking further action. While a stay or direction applies, do not release the money.

The secretary should file the notice, correspondence, minutes and final order together, and tell the auditors if the amount is material. If an unrelated court order requires an ACRA filing, our guide on lodging a court order with ACRA explains which orders and who files.

Who does what: the company secretary or the solicitor?

The solicitor handles every court step, and the company secretary handles the corporate record and the internal workflow. Proceedings are conducted by a Singapore Advocate and Solicitor, and the company can speak to a Singapore law firm from our panel if it does not already have one. Our note on how the corporate service provider and the law firm divide the work sets out the split in more detail, and our overview of the company secretary’s role explains the secretarial side.

If you are on the other side, as the creditor trying to recover a judgment debt, see the Raffles Corporate Services guide to enforcing a court judgment against a Singapore company. If your own company’s bank account has been frozen, read what to do when a company bank account is frozen by a court order.

What mistakes should the company avoid?

The common errors are paying the debtor anyway, missing the 14-day window and treating the notice as a debt claim against your own company.

• Paying or crediting the debtor after the notice of attachment is served, then discovering the order still binds the debt.
• Ignoring a stay, a police direction or a conditional order and paying out regardless.
• Relying on guides for the earlier Rules. The Singapore Courts’ self-help page on garnishee proceedings (last updated 10 July 2026) is framed around the older Order 49 procedure, including a show cause hearing, so use it for background and rely on your solicitor for the ROC 2021 steps.
• Ignoring the consequences of disobeying an order. Our guide to contempt of court and committal proceedings involving a Singapore company explains why court orders should not be taken lightly.

Frequently asked questions

Is a garnishee order the same as a claim against my company?

No. The judgment is against the debtor. Your company is served only because it owes the debtor money, and the attachment can reach no more than the debt it owes.

Do garnishee orders still exist under the Rules of Court 2021?

The term has been replaced. The Singapore Courts’ digest on the ROC 2021 lists the enforcement order for attachment of a debt as the successor to the garnishee order, with the person served called a non-party.

How long does the company have to object?

The notice of objection must be filed within 14 days of service of the notice of attachment under Order 22 rule 10(1). If the Sheriff then directs the objector to apply to Court, the summons and affidavit are due within 7 days of that direction.

Can the order attach money we only owe in future?

It can attach a debt payable at a future date or at intervals if the obligation to pay already exists. It cannot attach a contingent debt that depends on an event that has not happened.

Last reviewed: 6 November 2026. The Editorial Team, Raffles Corporate Services.