Amendments to the BVI Business Companies Act

KEY POINTS

Bearer share regime abolished

New strike off and restoration regime

Names of current Directors available to the public

Voluntary Liquidators to be physically present/residing in BVI

Annual Financial Returns filing requirements

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The British Virgin Islands (BVI) recently enacted the BVI Business Companies (Amendment) Act, 2022 and the BVI Business Companies (amendment) Regulations, 2022, which will come into force on 1 January, 2023. The new amendments are intended to strengthen the BVI business companies’ regime and ensure continued compliance with international standards and emerging global standards in financial services. The links to the amendments are set out below:

• BVI Business Companies (Amendment) Act 2022
• BVI Business Companies (Amendment) Regulations, 2022

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BVI BUSINESS COMPANIES (AMENDMENT) ACT,2022
The following are the key changes to the BVI Business Companies Act and the BVI Business Companies Regulations:

• Bearer Shares

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The concept of a bearer share will be removed from BVI business companies legislation. Companies will no longer be permitted to issue bearer shares, convert registered shares to bearer shares or exchange registered shares for bearer shares. Existing bearer shares will automatically be converted to registered shares on 1 July 2023.

• Directors Names Publicly Available

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The BVI Registrar of Corporate Affairs will make available, upon request (and likely upon payment of a fee), a list of directors contained in a company’s register of directors filed with the Registrar. Only registered users of the online VIRRGIN system will have access to this information when carrying out a search of the company.

The following are important further points to note:

– The complete company’s register of directors (which is currently required to be filed with the Registrar and is held privately) will not be available to the public.
– The information made available will not include dates of birth or addresses or the names of former directors.

Portcullis may, on a discretionary basis, provide directors. Please speak with your Portcullis relationship manager if such assistance is required.

• Register of members to include voting rights

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A company’s register of members will need to include the nature of any voting rights, unless such information is already included in the company’s memorandum or articles of association.

• Struck off companies and dissolution

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Presently, a BVI company that is struck off the Register of Companies (e.g. for failing to pay annual fees or failing to retain a registered agent) remains in the ‘struck off’ state for up-to seven years. During this period, the company, its directors or members (or any receiver or liquidator of the company) may not take any actions or act in any way in connection with the company’s assets. If the company is not restored within seven years, it is automatically dissolved and any property of the Company vests bona vacantia in the Crown.

From 1 January 2023, the above regime will be substantially modified and all newly struck off companies will be dissolved on the date the Registrar publishes a notice of striking off in the BVI Gazette, i.e. almost immediately.

Transitional arrangements will apply to companies which are currently struck off, such that if they wish to apply to be restored to the Register, they must do so before the earlier of either:

– 1 July 2023; or
– seven years from their scheduled strike off date.

• Restoration of dissolved companies

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The amended legislation provides for a simpler method for dissolved companies to be restored to the Register. Dissolved companies will, subject to certain requirements, be able to apply to the Registrar for restoration within five years of the date of dissolution without the need for a court order. In order to apply for restoration, a company will need a licensed registered agent who has agreed to act in that role and the registered agent will need to declare that they hold up to date information on the company, its directors and owners compliant with BVI anti-money laundering laws and regulations. The company is also required to notify the Crown if any property has been vested in the Crown bona vacantia.

A company may still be restored by court order in certain circumstances.

When a company is restored, it is deemed never to have been struck off and dissolved.

• New annual financial returns

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All BVI companies are currently required to maintain financial records and underlying documentation that show and explain their transactions. These records must be sufficient to enable the company’s financial position to be determined with reasonable accuracy at any time. Financial records must be kept for a minimum of five years. However, unless a company is regulated by the FSC (eg a bank, fund, fund manager etc), there is no requirement to prepare those records in a particular form, have them audited or file them with any regulator or other third party.

From 1 January 2023, each company will be required to file an annual financial return with its registered agent within nine months of the end of the calendar year (or, if the company’s financial year is not a calendar year, the company’s financial year). This return must be retained by the registered agent for at least five years.

However, the above requirements will not apply to the following companies:

◦ listed companies;
◦ companies regulated under financial services legislation which already provide financial statements to the FSC under that legislation; and
◦ companies that file tax returns with the BVI Inland Revenue Department with accompanying financial statements.

A company that is part of a group of companies that prepares and maintains consolidated accounts will, for the purposes of its annual return, be able to file with its registered agent the consolidated accounts of the group provided those consolidated accounts show the accounts of the company.

For holding companies, although the prescribed form of annual return is not yet finalised, we anticipate that a simple unaudited profit and loss account and balance sheet will likely be sufficient.

If the registered agent does not receive the annual return within 30 days of the due date, it will need to inform the FSC. There is no requirement to file a company’s annual return with the Registrar and the return will not be available to the public.

The requirement for a company to comply with its annual return obligations will become one of conditions to maintaining ‘good standing’. Failure to file an annual return could also lead to a penalty fine of up to US$5,000.

Portcullis can assist with the preparation of such accounts for submission together with the annual returns. Please speak with your Portcullis relationship manager if such assistance is required.

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• Continuation outside of the BVI

From 1 January 2023 a company that wishes to continue outside the BVI will need to give advance notice to its members and creditors (secured or otherwise) of its intention to continue out of the BVI.

In addition, a BVI company intending to continue to another jurisdiction must at least 14 days before filing to continue out:

– advertise a notice of its intention in the BVI Gazette and on the company’s website (if any) and specify the foreign jurisdiction to which it intends to continue; and
– notify its creditors and members in writing of its intention.

The above requirements are intended to provide protection and comfort to creditors and members while still allowing a company the freedom to continue out to another jurisdiction.

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• Solvent liquidations – BVI residency requirement for liquidators

With respect to solvent liquidations, the definition of ‘voluntary liquidator’ has been narrowed to mean a person who is either:

– resident in the BVI individual for at least 180 days, either continuously or in aggregate, prior to the appointment; or
– licensed as an insolvency practitioner under the Insolvency Act;

However, where joint liquidators are appointed, only one of them needs to meet the residence test. Voluntary liquidators appointed prior to 1 January 2023 are allowed to continue to act until the conclusion of the liquidation without complying with the new BVI residency requirement.

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• Register of ‘persons with significant control’

The BVI Government previously made a commitment to introduce a publicly accessible beneficial ownership register in relation to BVI companies by 2023, subject to a number of caveats and qualifications, and provided such registers were an international standard.

Provisions have now been included in the Act so that the BVI Government may in future regulations set out the requirements for registers of ‘persons with significant control’. However, the changes introduced in these amendments do not currently impose the register and no public register of ‘persons with significant control’ will be introduced with effect from 1 January 2023.

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• Charitable companies

The changes to the legislation now allow BVI companies to be used for wholly charitable or non-commercial purposes globally, rather than confined to the BVI as previously. However, charitable companies operating outside the BVI will be subject to increased financial oversight (which may include the preparation and filing of audited accounts with the Registrar) in recognition of the increased risks associated with the use of charitable companies globally to assist or facilitate money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing.

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• Resignation of registered agent
  

The period of notice of resignation required to be given by a registered agent has been reduced from 90 days to 60 days. A registered agent will also no longer be required to resign (or give notice of resignation) if a company is dissolved or where the registered agent is acting for a foreign company which is removed from the Register of Foreign Companies.

Please contact your Portcullis Relationship Manager or one of our representatives for assistance or further information should you have any questions or difficulty in meeting these regulatory requirements.

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PORTCULLIS GROUP
www.portcullis.co

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英屬維京群島法律修正案

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英屬維京群島最近制定了「2022年英屬維京群島商業公司(修正)法」及「2022 年英屬維京群島商業公司(修正)規則」，兩法皆自2023年1月1日起施行。本項修正新法意在強化維京群島商業公司的制度，並確保持續遵守金融服務方面的國際準則及新興全球準則。通往上述修正新法的連結如下：

• 2022年英屬維京群島商業公司(修正)法
• 2022年英屬維京群島商業公司(修正)規則

2022年英屬維京群島商業公司(修正)法

英屬維京群島商業公司法及英屬維京群島商業公司規則的重要修改如下：

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無記名股份

無記名股份的概念將自維京群島商業公司法規中移除。公司不得再發行無記名股份、轉換記名股份為無記名股份、或交換記名股份為無記名股份。於2023年7月1日，既有的無記名股份將自動轉換為記名股份。

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提供董事名單

英屬維京群島公司事務註冊處將在受理索取(且可能收取規費)後，提供向註冊處提交的公司董事名冊中所載的董事名單。僅限已註冊的線上VIRRGIN系統用戶，在進行公司搜尋時始能取得本項資訊。

下列乃應注意的其他重點：

– 完整的公司董事名冊(目前依規定必須提交註冊處私下留存)不對外提供。
– 提供的資訊不包括前任董事的出生日期、地址或姓名。

保得利得以自由裁量的方式提供董事。若需要此方面的協助，請洽詢 貴公司的保得利關係經理。

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• 股東名冊必須記載表決權性質

公司的股東名冊必須記載任何表決權的性質，但公司的組織備忘錄或公司章程已記載者除外。

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• 除名的公司及解散

目前，已在公司註冊處除名的英屬維京群島公司(例如：因未繳納年費或未雇用註冊代理人者)，一直處於「除名」狀態最長可達七年。在該期間，公司或其董事或股東(或公司的任何破產管理人或清算人)，不得對公司資產採取任何行為或以任何方式處理。若公司未在七年內復名，則公司自動解散，且公司的任何財產視為無主財產而歸屬官方所有。

自2023年1月1日起，上述制度將大幅修改，所有新除名的公司，將在註冊處於英屬維京群島公報上刊登除名公告的當日即告解散，換言之，幾近立即解散。

過渡性安排措施適用於目前已除名的公司，因此若其擬向註冊處申請復名，則須於下列兩者較早的日期之前申請：

– 2023年7月1日，或
– 自其計畫除名日起七年。

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• 已解散的公司復名
  

修正後的法律規定，使解散公司向註冊處申請復名的方法較為簡單。以遵守若干規定為前提，解散公司得在解散日起五年內向註冊處申請復名，而無須法院命令。為申請復名，公司必須雇用領有證照且同意擔任註冊代理人的註冊代理人，該註冊代理人必須聲明，其持有該公司、其董事及業主的最新資訊，一切皆遵守英屬維京群島的各項反洗錢法規。若任何財產已屬無主財產而應歸屬官
方所有，公司亦須通知官方。

在若干情況下，公司仍可能以法院命令進行復名。

當公司復名時，即被視為其從未曾除名及解散過。

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• 新的年度財務申報

所有維京群島公司目前皆須留存財務記錄，以及足以顯示並說明各相關交易的憑證文件。財務記錄必須足以令人隨時合理正確地判定公司的財務狀況。財務記錄必須留存至少五年。除非公司誠屬金融服務委員會所監管者(例如：銀行、基金、基金經理人等)，否則對於是否以特定格式編製、查核或向任何監管機關或其他第三方提交財務記錄，並無規定。

自2023年1月1日起，每家公司皆須在曆年度(或若該公司的財務年度非採曆年制者，則該公司的財務年度)結束後九個月內，向其註冊代理人提交一份年度財務申報書。本項申報書必須由註冊代理人留存至少五年。

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然而，上述規定不適用於下列公司：

• 上市公司；
• 依金融服務法規監管的公司，該些公司已依法規向金融服務委員會提交財務報表；以及
• 向維京群島國稅局提交報稅書並附上財務報表的公司。

一家屬於集團公司旗下的公司，在該集團已編製並留存合併報表，且該合併報表列載該公司的財務帳目時，就年度申報目的而言，該公司得向註冊代理人提交該集團合併報表。

對控股公司而言，年度申報的法定格式雖未定，但我們預料一份簡單未經查核的損益表及資產負債表可能已足。

若註冊代理人未在到期日的30日內收到年度申報書，則須通報金融服務委員會。對於向註冊處提交公司年度申報書一事，並無規定，公司年度申報書不對外提供。

公司必須遵守其年度申報義務的規定，將成為是否維持「資格完備」的一項條件。未提交年度申報書者，亦可能導致最高美元5,000元的罰款。

保得利能夠協助編製上述應提交的財務帳目及年度申報書。若需本項協助，請洽詢 貴公司的保得利關係經理。

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• 英屬維京群島遷冊境外存續

自2023年1月1日起，公司若希望在英屬維京群島遷冊境外存續，應預先將其擬在英屬維京群島境外存續的意思通知其股東及債權人(擔保或非擔保者)。

此外，英屬維京群島公司擬在其他管轄地存續者，在申請境外存續前至少14日，必須：

– 在英屬維京群島公報或其公司網站(若有網站)上公告其意思，並說明其擬存續的外國管轄地；以及
– 將其意思以書面通知其股東及債權人。

上述規定乃意在提供債權人及股東保護及安心，而同時仍允許公司自由在境外其他管轄地存續。

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• 破產清算– 清算人須是英屬維京群島居民的規定

關於破產清算，「自願清算人」的定義已被限縮為符合下列任一條件之人：

– 在被指定之前，已持續或合計居住於英屬維京群島至少180天者；或
– 依破產法取得破產執業人證照者。

然而，若指定共同清算人，則僅其中一人須要符合居民規定。2023年1月1日之前指定的自願清算人得持續進行清算，直至清算工作完成為止，而無須遵守新的英屬維京群島居民規定。

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• 「擁有重大控制權之人」名冊

英屬維京群島政府曾許下一個承諾：在符合眾多警告及資格的前提下，於2023年之前引介有關英屬維京群島公司對外開放的最終受益人名冊，但必須該些名冊乃符合國際標準。

若干條款目前已納入2022年英屬維京群島商業公司(修正)法中，以便維京群島政府可在未來法規中制定「擁有重大控制權之人」名冊的規定。然而，此次修法所為的變更內容並未加諸名冊規定，因此並無「擁有重大控制權之人」公開名冊的規定被引介自2023年1月1日起施行。

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• 慈善公司
  

此次修法使英屬維京群島公司得在全球完全為慈善或非商業之用，而非之前的僅局限於英屬維京群島。然而，在英屬維京群島境外運作的慈善公司，在辨識全球性使用慈善公司而協助或增進洗錢、資助恐怖主義、資助大規模殺傷力武器擴散等所增加的相關風險上，必須遵守更多的財務監督(可包括編製並向註冊處提交經查核的帳目)。

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• 註冊代理人辭任
  

註冊代理人依規定必須提出的辭任預告期，已自90日減為60日。在公司解散時，或註冊代理人代理一家已自外國公司名冊中除名的外國公司時，該註冊代理人亦無須辭任(或預告辭任)。

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保得利集團
www.portcullis.co