Accounting

BVI Business Companies Annual Financial Return (AFR) – a guide

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.

Hong Kong: Audited financial statements required to be submitted with the Profit Tax return for 2022/23

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.

BVI Accounting Records

Reminder to BVI companies on ongoing maintenance of accounting records and related official documentation detail

Under the BVI Companies Act (Revised) and the Mutual Legal Assistance (Tax Matters) Act (Revised) a BVI company and the registered agent are required to have knowledge of the location of accounting records and also the person responsible for the keeping of such records.

Furthermore, all BVI companies will be required to file an annual financial return with their registered agent to be retained for record-keeping purposes, commencing from their 2023 financial year. 

Reminder: Seychelles accounting records due

Seychelles entities are reminded of the requirement to submit their bi-annual accounting records to their registered agent (by July and January) each year.  The official deadline for submitting accounting records for the second half of the year 2022 (July to December) is 31 January 2023. Furthermore, large entities (with an annual turnover of more than SCR 50 million), as well as non-large non-holding entities, should prepare and submit their Financial Summary using the prescribed template for submission within six months from their financial year end. As detailed in our original Seychelles update, significant penalties have been introduced in case of non-compliance with statutory obligations by International Business Companies (IBC). Therefore, please ensure that you provide accounting records to Marbury before 30 January 2023 to enable filing with the Seychelles registered agent by the above deadline.  Non-compliant entities face delay in obtaining company documents For any Seychelles entities that have not yet submitted their historical and/or first half 2022 accounting records, these are now overdue.  The Seychelles registered agent will not issue certificates to non-compliant entities and thus clients will face delays in their business operations when a certificate is required until their outstanding obligations are fulfilled.  Seychelles entities are further reminded of the obligation to inform the registered agent of any change of address of directors or members on an ongoing basis. Inaccurate or not up-to-date information held on the registers may also incur penalties. For further details, please see the penalty table covering each type of non-compliance under the IBC Act.  Marbury is able to provide bookkeeping and accounting management services. Please contact your usual Marbury advisor or email info@marburys.com if you have any queries about this update or would like to learn more about our related services.