Announcement on BVI Business Companies (Amendment) Act, 2015

The BVI Financial Services Commission (FSC) wishes to advise industry practitioners that the BVI Business Companies (Amendment) Act, 2015 was enacted in the House of Assembly on Monday 21 December, 2015. The Commission estimates that the Act will be assented to and brought into force on 1 January, 2016 or shortly thereafter.

Filing Register of Directors

A key provision introduced by the BVI Business Companies (Amendment) Act, 2015 is the requirement to file a Register of Directors with the Registry of Corporate Affairs. All BVI business companies on the Register when the Act comes into force will be required to file a Register of Directors. The Commission anticipates that the transition period for existing companies to file a Register of Directors will run from 1 April, 2016 to 31 March, 2017.

Fee Structure for Register of Director filings

A new section 118A prescribes the information that the Register of Directors must contain. A Register of Directors may be filed without attracting a filing fee up to 30 September, 2016. From 1 October, 2016 to 31 March, 2017 when the transitional period for filing the Register ends, the filing fee will be $25 per company. After the transition period ends and if a company that was on the Register at the time the amendment took effect has not sought and received an extension, the filing fee will be $50 per company.

Batch submission for Registers of Directors

The FSC will provide a template data entry file/form to facilitate batch electronic upload of Director information for BVI BCs. Once the information has been uploaded, the Registered Agent will be able to select and confirm the companies for which it wishes to file. After the filing, the Registered Agent can print a copy of the filed register for its records if desired. Director details that are submitted using the batch filing process do not have to be individually entered in VIRRGIN.

The BVI Business Companies (Amendment) Act, 2015 may be accessed in the Virgin Islands Official Gazette and FSC website once it has completed the legislative process.