Netherlands Antilles Steps Up Efforts To Clean Up Offshore/Onshore Registry

Mandy Robinson, Tax-news.com, London

02 March 2001

In January, the Netherlands Antilles' Department of Permits and Licences announced a major project to review its registry of offshore and domestic companies in the attempt to clean up the 2,600 registered businesses suspected to be dormant.

Based on a list published by the Economic Affairs' Department of Permits and Licences, offshore companies registered before 1988 and onshore companies registered before 1990 that appear inactive had been given until mid-February to come forward and clarify their position.

Despite Patricia Philips' (head of the Permits and Licences Department) statement at the time that failure to comply with the deadline would result in revocation of a company's licence, she has now decided to extend the deadline by a month to mid-March because it has become apparent that many companies are unaware of the department's demand.

Once a company has been inactive for over six months, the agreement governing the granting of licences to operate stipulates that the firm must inform the government of its intentions to become active or close down. But the department appears to have a job on its hands as it is likely that many companies are registered as active at the Economic Affairs Department but registered at the Tax Office as inactive in the attempt to avoid paying taxes.

Ms Philips explained that if the listed companies are in operation the government could scoop an extra NAf. 3.5m per year in revenue and she is hopeful that many businesses may be considered dormant simply because they have failed to pay the annual business licence fees which vary from NAf. 1,250 to NAf. 6,250.

Under the business licence ordinance, those found guilty of violation are open to a penalty of one month's imprisonment or a fine of NAf. 500 which is doubled if the law is violated twice within a period of two years.

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