The British Virgin Islands (“BVI”) is one of the world’s most preferable offshore financial centre and located in the Caribbean to northwest of Antigua. It consists of around 60 islands while the Tortola is the largest land.

Standard requirement for “BVI” Limited Company

Remark:

1. Bearer shares are now prohibited unless authorised by the memorandum or articles of association, and bearer share certificates must be deposited with a custodian who has been approved by the BVI Financial Services Commission.

The company name of “BVI” should be ended with the word either “Limited, Corporation, Incorporated, Societe Anonyme or Sociedad Anonima”. Moreover, if company name with words “Bank, Insurance, Assurance, Re-Insurance, Trust, Trustee, Savings, Royal, Asset management, Fund Management, Investment Fund, Building Society, Municipal or Chartered”, they require licensing.

Advantage of “BVI” Limited Company

·        Political and economic stability

·        English legal system

·        Internationally recognized reputation and respectability.

·        No tax on incomes in BVI

·        No wealth, capital gain or estate taxes

·        Security of assets and free to transfer and merge assets

·        Protection of wealth benefits, inheritance wishes and trust interests

·        Low setting up cost

Economic Substance Requirement

ECONOMIC SUBSTANCE (COMPANIES AND LIMITED PARTNERSHIPS) ACT, 2018 has been effective since 1 January 2019. BVI entities in-scope of the EU Substance legislation should be able to demonstrate their basis for classification, location of tax residency, as well as to keep any relevant documentation in the event that authorities request such information in the future.

A relevant activity means business of the following:

1.     Banking;

2.     Distribution and service centre;

3.     Financing and leasing;

4.     Fund management;

5.     Headquarters;

6.     Holding company;

7.     Insurance;

8.     Intellectual property (IP); or

9.     Shipping;

To understand more about the rules and check whether your company is “in-scope” or not, please contact our specialist for further consultation.