Industry News

BVI Annual Financial Return for Companies

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The BVI Business Companies (Financial Return) Order, 2023 “the Order” has been published in the BVI Gazette and is deemed to have come into force as of January 1st, 2023.

This means that every BVI company will be required to file an annual return with its BVI registered agent every year in the form, and containing the information, specified in the Schedule of the Order.

Please find the format for the annual return here:

When must a company file its annual return?
For the purposes of compliance with the Order, the reference to “year” is defined under section 98A (7) of the BVI Business Companies Act as the company’s fiscal or financial year, which may also be a calendar year.

If a company’s fiscal or financial year does not correspond to a calendar year, the reference to “year” is defined as the company’s fiscal or financial year as determined by the company. 

If the company’s fiscal or financial year is also a calendar year, the earliest date an annual return becomes due is January 1st, 2024.

Therefore, a company that has a fiscal or financial year that is also a calendar year, has until September 30th, 2024 to file its annual return that became due on January 1st, 2024.

If a company does not have a fiscal or financial year that is also a calendar year, its annual return becomes due at some point in 2024, depending on the month in which the commencement of its financial year falls. However, it may have until any period in 2025 to file its first annual return.

Example 1:
Company A’s fiscal or financial year runs from March to February. For the purposes of complying with its annual return filing, Company A’s first annual return becomes due on March 1st, 2024, but it has until November 30th, 2024 to file the annual return with its BVI registered agent.

Example 2:
Company A’s fiscal or financial year runs from May to April. For the purposes of complying with its annual return filing, Company A’s first annual return becomes due on May 1st, 2024, but it has until January 31st, 2025 to file the annual return with its BVI registered agent.

Exemptions
The following types of BVI Companies are exempted from the requirement to file an annual return:a listed company, meaning a company that is listed on a stock exchange.a company that is regulated under financial services legislation and provides financial statements to the BVI Financial Services Commission in accordance with the requirements of that financial services legislation.a company that files its annual tax return with the Inland Revenue Department accompanied by the company’s financial statements; anda company in liquidation, except that this exemption does not apply if the company’s annual return becomes due prior to the commencement of the liquidation.Next steps
BVI Services will keep you informed of any further guidance received from the Regulator or other authority.

The annual return should be sent to this email address: cssupport@omcgroup.com. We recommend that this is sent to us at least 30 days before the deadline for filing.

Should you have any queries regarding the requirement to file an annual return for your BVI company, please do not hesitate to contact Customer Service Support team here: cssupport@omcgroup.com.

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