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Concerns Over Keeping Accounts For Seychelles & Belize IBCs
New requirements regarding keeping accounts for Seychelles and Belize IBC Companies.
To be clear, the requirement is to keep accounts showing inputs and outputs of the IBC Company. The new requirements are shown below:
Pursuant to section 65(1) of the Seychelles IBC Act, the agents are required to record the address where a company keeps its accounting documents (bank statements, invoices, receipts, contracts etc). Please note the law requires that the agent is notified within 14 days of any changes.
Regulations particularly the Anti-Money Laundering Act require that agents ensure funds employed in Seychelles companies do not come from illegal activities. Any information provided will be kept privately in the Seychelles agents files.
They will not file anything publicly. Only the highest authority has the power to ask for such information, even then only the Supreme Court has the power to release such information into the public domain. Until then everyone must maintain confidentiality.
It has always been our policy to recommend to our clients operating IBC Companies to keep accounts. To be absolutely clear, these accounts do not have to be filed. So, why should you keep accounts? Well clearly, if it is your intention at some stage to sell the Company. The problem would arise that without supporting accounts, the Company would have no value. You may ask why are the Seychelles and Belize IBC jurisdictions asking you to keep accounts. This is due to pressure from the OECD (Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development) who seeks to bring certain jurisdictions into line with OECD Money Laundering rules. So should you be concerned? Well providing you are not laundering money, the answer is no.
We remind our clients that the use of an IBC (International Business Company is perfectly legal and used effectively by many ' blue chip' Companies for efficient tax planning. Let's get away from this ridiculous of the words, 'tax havens and or offshore Companies. IBC Companies are designed to do a job, and that job is to trade across international borders free of corporation tax and country taxes such as VAT (value added tax). For more information please contact me here
Article supplied by Molybank