BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS: ANNUAL REQUIREMENTS
- VISS
- Jun 21
- 2 min read
ECONOMIC SUBSTANCE ACT (ESA)
We remind you of the Economic Substance classification deadlines for the period 2024-2025 imposed by the International Tax Authority of the BVI:
You can send us the ESA Form or you can request a link to fill it out and submit it directly to the RA's portal.
Penalties are imposed for failure to provide required information and for operating a legal entity in breach of the economic substance requirements, which may include fines, imprisonment and/or strike-off. Fines imposed by the authority, which may range from US$5,000 to US$75,000.
ANNUAL FINANCIAL RETURN (AFR) 2024
As you are aware, with the implementation of the BVI Business Company (Financial Return) Order, 2023, all BVI companies will be required to submit certain financial information, in the form of an annual return, to their Registered Agent.
The annual return should be filed within nine (9) months after the end of the company’s financial/fiscal year to which the annual return relates.
The initial filing of annual returns, specifically the annual return as of December 31, 2023, was mandated to be submitted by no later than September 30, 2024. However, the Financial Services Commission has extended this deadline by nine months, concluding on June 30, 2025. Consequently, we must submit the ANNUAL FINANCIAL RETURN 2023 no later than June 30, 2025.
Bear in mind, that subsequent periods, i.e. December 31, 2024 and thereafter, maintain the filing deadline until September 30, 2025, as follows: for a company whose financial/fiscal year is a calendar year, i.e. January 1 to December 31, the company will have until September 30, 2025 to file its annual return (and each year the filing start date will be January 1 and the filing deadline will be September 30).
In case your company is not following a calendar financial/fiscal year, please note the following deadlines:
You can send us the AFR Report or you can request a link to submit it directly to the RA's portal.
The RA is required to notify the BVI Registry of Corporate Affairs of any company that has failed to provide the annual return within 30 days of its last filing date and the company will be reported for noncompliance and liable to pay a penalty of US$300 for the first month of non-compliance and US$200 for each month that the company remains in breach of the filing obligation, up to a maximum of US$5,000. The BVI Registrar of Corporate Affairs may also strike a default company off the register.
If you require any additional information, please get in touch with us at Contact@viss.com.hk
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