BVI Launches Consultation On Amendments To Business Companies Act

by Amanda Banks, Tax-News.com, London

01 September 2005

The Attorney General of the British Virgin Islands has requested that the BVI Financial Services Commission manage the consultation exercise regarding amendments to the recently passed BVI Business Companies Act, and make recommendations concerning necessary amendments.

In order to ensure that the consultation exercise is undertaken in a manageable way, the Commission has decided to appoint a committee comprising representatives drawn from the Attorney General’s Chambers, the private sector and the Commission. The Committee will undertake a review of the Act with a view to making appropriate recommendations for amending the BVIBC Act to the Attorney General.

The FSC is calling on all interested parties to submit proposed amendments for the improvement of the Act by 12th September. The Commission is hopeful that the Amendment Bill will be introduced in the Legislature by October. This will ensure that there is clarity on how the Act will be implemented well in advance of January 2006.

Described by Chief Minister Orlando Smith as a “modern, sophisticated and innovative” piece of legislation, the Business Companies Bill, passed by the BVI Legislative Council late last year, replaced the former International Business Companies Act - a model copied successfully in other jurisdictions - and effectively ended the distinction between offshore and local firms, as all businesses benefit from a 0% income tax regime.

Since its inception twenty years ago, the IBC Act resulted in the incorporation of over 600,000 IBCs in the BVI. According to the FSC, there has been a "steady stream" of new incorporations under the new Act.

Recommended