The Seychelles BTAA has updated the Business Tax Act to comply with the European Union’s Economic Substance requirements. Previously, Seychelles operated under a territorial tax regime, meaning only income sourced within the country was subject to taxation. Foreign-sourced income was exempt from Seychelles taxation. However, pursuant to the BTAA updates, exemptions for foreign sourced income have been specified.
As noted in our previous updater, amendments to the BVI Business Companies Act (Revised) came into force on 1 January 2023 introducing the requirement for BVI companies to file an annual financial return (AFR) with their registered agent. The BVI Business Companies (Financial Return) Order, 2023 (the Order) enacted in March, details (1) the form of the AFR, (2) the due and filing dates, and (3) entities exempted from filing the AFR.
We provide a comprehensive guide to the AFR requirements and what BVI companies need to know in order to be ready to prepare their AFR.
In a recent circular to tax representatives by the Hong Kong Inland Revenue Department (the IRD), it was underlined that the IRD no longer exempts the submission requirements of supporting documents from the year of assessment 2022/23, except for dormant companies or overseas companies which are not required to carry out statutory audit in the respective jurisdiction.
The Seychelles BO regime has since been further enhanced through the related Seychelles Beneficial Ownership (Amendment) Regulations enacted on 28 April 2023.
We summarise the key amendments to the BO Regulations in our updater here.