Podcast: Lessons from the first reporting period of Economic Substance in the BVI

Icaza, González-Ruiz & Alemán has launched its Legal Insider podcast

Legal Insider is a podcast by Icaza, González-Ruiz & Alemán, in which our team of experts will decode essential information on jurisdictional regulatory updates, provide insights into the policies and services that are shaping our industry, and detail their implications in your business.

In our first episode, Liz Barahona, Deputy Manager of Icaza (BVI) Trust Limited, and newly appointed Chairwoman of the BVI Association of Registered Agents, Mariano Oteiza Jr., our Associate expert in Company Formation and Management services, and Domingo Diaz de la Guardia, our Associate in charge of the implementation of the Economic Substance system will be discussing the Lessons from First Reporting period of Economic Substance in the British Virgin Islands. 

 The main points discussed are the following:

1. Economic Substance background and a brief recap of the Act’s requirements.
2. Initial implementation Challenges.
3. Reporting process implementation.
4. Reporting and dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic: The short period provided to make the necessary filings in the BOSS system was made even more complicated by the pandemic. Due to global restrictions, directors were unable to travel to the BVI to hold their annual meetings, some companies ceased their operations temporarily, and overall the implementation of economic substance for companies was delayed. Local authorities allowed companies to indicate the difficulties they were having to implement economic substance and properly assess their situation on a case-by-case basis.
5. Recommendations for the next reporting period:
   1. Directors must be fully engaged with the day to day operations of their entity,
   2. Directors must ensure that the entity is in good standing with all of its records updated,
   3. Registered agents must be informed of any changes to the company’s core income-generating activities,
   4. Changes to the financial period must be informed and registered,
   5. Organize the entities’ activities from the beginning of the year, such as annual meetings and other affairs.
   6. Start planning your filings early and request your filing confirmation.

Listen to Episode 1 here: