2023年英屬維爾京群島商業公司法修訂通知
The British Virgin Islands’ (BVI) authorities have recently enacted several amendments[1] to the BVI Business Companies Act, 2004, which is the primary company legislation in the BVI. This communication provides you with some of the key changes under the new legislation and the required actions to follow.
由於英屬維爾京群島當局近期對當地的主要公司法例——2004年《英屬維爾京群島商業公司法》頒佈多項修訂。本文內容旨在向你簡介新法例下的幾個關鍵變更，以及你應採取的準備行動。
Striking-off and dissolution 註銷和解散
Instead of being remained struck-off for a continuous period of 7 years before the dissolution, all newly struck-off companies, started from 1 January 2023, will be dissolved immediately upon publication of the striking-off by the Registrar of Corporate Affairs.
自 2023 年 1 月 1 日起，所有新註銷的公司將在 公司事務註冊處 宣布註銷後立即解散，而非必須連續七年處於註銷狀態才能予以解散。早於2023 年 1 月 1 日前已經處於註銷狀態的公司將會獲得安排短期過渡的機會。
SDG could assist clients to apply the restoration process to facilitate the restoration of companies that may have been struck off and dissolved within 5 years under the new legislation. Clients must declare that all information provided is up-to-date and in compliance with various BVI regulations. There is also a requirement to take steps to notify the Crown if any property of the company has vested in the Crown bona vacantia.
若果公司被新法例註銷和解散，我們SDG可以為客戶申請在解散日期起計 5 年內被解散之公司恢復成良好存續的狀態。屆時客戶需要提供所有有關該等公司的最新並符合各項英屬維爾京群島監管條例規定的資料。倘該等公司的任何財產已遭充公為無主財產，客戶亦須採取有關行動，通知有關當局。
New qualification and residency requirements for liquidators in solvent liquidations
遭清盤公司之清盤人的最新資格與居民身份要求
The amendments to the BVI Companies Law now require entities to appoint a BVI resident liquidator (physically lived in the BVI for at least 180 days, either continuously or in aggregate), who must have the requisite professional qualifications and liquidation experience, to voluntarily liquidate a solvent BVI company. These resident liquidators will be required to collect the corporate records kept and maintained by the company in liquidation and on completion of the liquidation to provide copies of all records collected by the liquidator to the Registered Agent of the company.
在新法規下，英屬維爾京群島公司的清盤人必須為當地居民（在獲委任前已於 BVI 親身居住至少 180 天，不論是否連續），並具備相關的專業資格和清盤經驗，方可獲委任為自願清盤人。該當地清盤人需要收集公司清盤時及完成清盤後所保留及維護的企業記錄，並將清盤人所收集的所有記錄副本提交予該公司的註冊代理。
Publicly available director names 公開董事姓名
In compliance with international standards, under the new legislation, the names of directors will become publicly available and searchable on BVI Financial Services Commission’s online filing platform, VIRRGIN by platform’s registered users – but searches will need to be run against a company name, rather than the name of a director. Other information from the register of directors will remain private, such as dates of birth, addresses or former directors’ names.
為遵循國際標準，新法例要求將現任董事姓名可在BVI 金融服務委員會的網上歸檔平台 VIRRGIN 供平台註冊使用者搜尋—但搜尋時需要輸入公司名稱，而非董事姓名。《董事名册》的其他資料仍將保密，例如出生日期、地址或前任董事姓名等。
Please contact us to ensure your Register of Directors filings are correct and up to date.
請與我們聯絡確保貴公司之《董事名册》歸檔資料正確且最新。
Financial records and accounts 財務記錄與帳戶
In addition to existing record keeping obligations, the new legislation will introduce additional obligations that, require BVI companies to provide certain financial information, in the form of an annual return, to their Registered Agent. The information is expected to be drafted as a simple balance sheet and profit and loss statement, which will not need to be audited and made public.
除了現有的記錄保存義務外，新法例將引入額外義務，英屬維爾京群島公司均須以一年一度提交的形式，向其註冊代理提供指定的財務資料。預計形式將會是一份簡單的資產負債表及損益表，無須經過審計和不會被公開。
An annual return will need to be prepared for each financial year of the company and filed with the Registered Agent within nine months following the end of the financial year to which it relates. In practice, the first deadline for companies with a year-end of 31 December 2023 for the filing is therefore expected to be 30 September 2024.
公司每個財政年度都需要準備提交年度申報表，並於該財政年度結束後九個月內，向其註冊代理提交。具體而言，以 2023 年 12 月 31 日結束財政年度的公司為例，首次申報截止日期是 2024 年 9 月 30 日。
Listed companies and companies that file tax returns in the BVI and certain BVI regulated entities will not be required to file an annual return.
上市公司或在英屬維爾京群島報稅的公司，以及部分指定受英屬維爾京群島法例監管的實體，將無須提交年度申報表。
Conclusion 總結
Please be noted that no immediate action is required. You could contact SDG to ensure your BVI entities’ status and prepare for the new legislation before 1 January 2023. SDG will help our clients to make sure their BVI companies will not be struck-off and being up to date with the payment of their annual fees.
請知悉現時無須立即採取行動。歡迎在2023年1月1日前聯絡我們SDG以了解你的英屬維爾京群島公司狀態以及做好當地政府新立法前的準備。我們SDG將協助客戶確保其英屬維爾京群島公司不會被剔除並履行支付最新的年費的義務。
Thank you for your kind attention and should you have any questions, kindly contact us at info@sdgsolution.com.
若有任何問題，請您不吝與我們聯繫：info@sdgsolution.com
Best regards,
祝 商好
SDG Solutions
備註 Remark
[1] The amendments include:
BVI Business Companies (Amendment) Act 2022
BVI Business Companies (Amendment) Regulations, 2022
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