BAHAMAS (CESRA)

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COMMERCIAL ENTITIES (SUBSTANCE REQUIREMENTS) ACT, 2023

As you may recall, on 1 September 2023, the Government of The Bahamas enacted the Commercial Entities (Substance Requirements) Act, 2023 (CESRA, 2023), which repeals and replaces the provisions of the former Act and provides a new regulatory framework for economic substance reporting in The Bahamas.

Economic Substance Declaration

All entities must submit an Economic Substance Declaration (CESRA) to their Registered Agent, who can then report the declared information to the Competent Authority on behalf of the entity through the recently launched Economic Substance System Portal (ESS Portal).

 

A company's fiscal year-end is determined/set by its directors. Some entities choose the same as the calendar year (January 1st to December 31st), and some opt for the last day of the month.  

According to the Commercial Entities (Substance Requirements) Act, 2023 (“CESRA”), please note that the deadline for economic substance filing is within 9 months following the expiration of the company’s fiscal year-end. Please download the applicable CESRA form using this link.

For your easy reference, see the schedule of the most common Fiscal Year end periods:

Sanctions

Failure to report or comply with the economic substance requirements (when applicable) may lead to administrative penalties of US$5,000, payable within 30 days of the imposition of said penalty, to avoid further penalties of US$500 for each day the offence continues.

Please note that the above is a general summary, not legal advice.

For further assistance or clarification, please get in touch with our team at Contact@viss.com.hk.