Gibraltar companies are widely used for holding property, trading and re-invoicing activities, and to act as investment holding companies. The incorporation of a company normally takes 5 days from the time of the order being placed. Additional certification (Notary and Apostille) may take another 2 to 3 days. Company formation can be undertaken within 5 days, unless more complex memoranda and articles are required. We will prepare your Memorandum and Articles of Association and other mandatory documents required to register your Gibraltar company. We pay the capital duties and registration fees, and the documents will then lodged with the Gibraltar Registrar of Companies. We will also provide you with a Registered Office and resident Company Secretary for your Gibraltar company. These services are mandatory in order to comply with the minimum local presence rules.

Company Name

Your company name can be in any language, as long as the relevant translation is approved first. Your name will need to end with Ltd or similar. Certain words are prohibited, such as names suggesting the patronage of any government or country. The company name approval process takes less than thirty minutes.

Directors

A director can be of any nationality, the names of directors appear on public record. Only one director is required and there is no requirement to appoint a local resident director

Shareholders

The shareholder can be any nationality. Only one shareholder is required. The shareholder can be a corporation and nominee shareholders are allowed. There is no requirement to appoint a local resident shareholder

Company Secretary

All Gibraltar companies must appoint a resident Company Secretary, who may be an individual or corporate body.

Share Capital

The standard share capital is GBP £2000. Greater amounts can be agreed, with small increases in the payable share capital tax. There is no minimum share capital, and the authorised share capital may be expressed in any currency. There is no minimum issued share capital, but two shares must be issued, and these must have a nominal value. Select the number of shares each shareholder will have. The standard share capital is GBP £2000 and there is no minimum share capital. Share capital may be expressed in any currency. There is no minimum issued share capital, but two shares must be issued, and these shares must have a nominal value. Monies do not need to be paid into an account for the shares.

Registered Office

You must have a registered agent and registered office in Gibraltar, and provide these services. The statutory books of the company must be kept at the registered office of the company.

Legalising documents for your company

Many companies will wish to have bank accounts outside Gibraltar, or will wish to sign public documents with a notary on behalf of the company. For this, you will require a Certificate of Good Standing for your company, stating the directors and (if required) the shareholders of the company. For a company to be in good standing, it needs to be up to date in filing company accounts, filing annual returns, and having directors, secretaries and a registered address in accordance with the Gibraltar Companies (Accounts) Ordinance 1999

Double Taxation Treaties

Gibraltar has no double taxation treaties or exchange controls.

Maintaining company records in Gibraltar

A statutory book must be held at the Registered Office of your company

To qualify as non-resident, it must:

Have foreign beneficial owners only Not trade locally in Gibraltar Not remit its income into Gibraltar: Such a company will not be considered a tax resident in Gibraltar and will thus not have to register for tax purposes for as long as it continues to trade internationally. If the criteria are satisfied, a Gibraltar company will be considered non-resident. As such, it will not fall under the Gibraltar tax system and will not be required to register for Gibraltar taxation purposes.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.