Notice of the New Filing Requirements for BVI Company’s Annual Financial Return

The BVI Business Companies Act has been amended and be effective on 1 January 2023. By this amendment, a BVI company is required to submit an Annual Financial Return (“Annual Return”) to its registered agent within 9 months of its financial year end. The Annual Return is for record keeping of the registered agent only and will not be accessible to the public.

Every BVI company shall, in respect of each year, file with its registered agent an Annual Return containing the information specified including Statement of Financial Position and Income Statement; the format of the Annual Return is not restricted and can be a Financial Statement. The first set of the Annual Return will be due for the first financial period starting after 1 January 2023. With this in mind, the first financial period will be covering from 1 January 2023 – 31 December 2023 and the Annual Return’s submission deadline to the registered agent will be 30 September 2024. The default financial year end date is on 31 December. Should you wish to change the year end date, please inform us for the arrangement to sign the relevant resolution.

Actions to be taken

Client may prepare the Annual Return by themselves and provide the Annual Return to us before the filing deadline. Alternatively, they may appoint us to prepare the annual return. We will provide quotation on handling the captioned service upon receipt of your service payment and the information required.

Exemption of companies

A company that is listed on a stock exchange; and in liquidation which begins the liquidation before the Annual Return is due are exempted from submitting the Annual Return.

Penalties for Non-compliance

If the company fails to comply with the reporting requirements of the Annual Return and submit it to the registered agent as scheduled, the registered agent is required to inform the Registry of Corporate Affairs within 30 days after the due date. A company that fails to file its Annual Return may be fined $3000 and ultimately struck-off.