After the changes to BVI legislation in 2023, BVI companies must now manage three major deadlines:
- Annual license fee: Deadline is May or November depending on the incorporation date;
- Economic Substance (“ES”) reporting: Deadline is 6 months after the ES financial period; and
- Annual return filing: Deadline is 9 months after the financial year end.
Annual license fee
The annual license fee date are fixed for BVI companies (as it is predetermined by the date of incorporation and cannot be changed):
- Companies incorporated between 1 January and 30 June must renew the annual license fee by 31 May each year;
- Companies incorporated between 1 July and 31 December must renew the annual license fee by 30 November each year;
Economic Substance financial period
Companies that were existing before 1 January 2019 were subject to a grandfathering period which ended on 30 June 2019. By default all these companies had a ES financial period that ends on 30 June each year.
Companies incorporated on or after 1 January 2019 had their ES financial period automatically set for 12 months following the incorporation date, unless the company filed a request for a different financial period.
Example: a company incorporated on 20 March 2022 will have an economic substance filing period of 20 March 2022 to 19 March 2023
Annual return financial period
Annual returns become due at the end of the company’s financial year. A company’s financial year can be either the calendar year or a 12-month period that the company specifically selects. You must file the annual return with the registered agent within 9 months after the conclusion of the company’s financial year.
Alignment of the financial periods
However, while the annual license fee deadlines remain fixed, the dates for ES filing and annual return filing exhibit variability. Furthermore, they can also be changed. In what is becoming an administratively more complicated annual process to manage the BVI company, aligning the dates of the financial periods for economic substance and the annual return will ease the headache and make for a more efficient process.
The process involves the preparation of directors resolutions and a submission to the International Tax Authority (“ITA”) in the BVI.
If you need assistance understanding these deadlines, the obligation of the company or the directors, please get in touch. We can also assist in preparing the required documents to change the financial periods.