Bahamas: Commercial Entities (Substance Requirements) Act, 2018 (“CESRA”)

Dear Client,

As previously informed, under the Commercial Entities (Substance Requirements) Act, 2018 (“CESRA”), legal entities formed or registered in the Bahamas are required to have economic substance in the Bahamas. The CESRA applies to certain companies registered in the Bahamas carrying on “relevant activities”.

In order to assist you in complying with this law, we shall provide you with a CESRA DECLARATION FORM which must be duly completed and returned to our offices for review and approval. If and when applicable, we will ask you to provide further information or evidence showing the legal entity is non-resident for tax purposes in The Bahamas.

For complex situations where legal advice is necessary to confirm if a legal entity must establish and demonstrate Economic Substance in The Bahamas, we can assist you by obtaining a bespoke legal opinion from a law firm in The Bahamas.

We shall provide you shortly with the CESRA DECLARATION FORM, including deadlines in which information needs to be received.

Our annual fees to guide our clients accordingly with the classification of their companies and ensuring the updated information is duly filed with the Ministry of Finance of The Bahamas shall amount to US$975.00 which shall be included in our annual maintenance invoices as of 2020.

Should you have any questions, please contact your account manager or our collections department at collections@viss.com.hk.

Sincerely,

V. I. Services & Solutions Ltd.