As of 1 December 2015, the Registry of Corporate Affairs (the Registry) in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) is offering an option for Premium Services which will guarantee a four hour turnaround for certain transactions submitted to the Registry.
The six transactions that benefit from the Premium Service are:
- Application for continuation into the BVI
- Amendment to memorandum and articles of association
- Notice of change in number of shares a company is authorised to issue
- Application for registration of charge
- Registration of articles of merger
- Notice of continuation (out of the BVI)
A Premium Service transaction fee of US$500 is payable to the Registry in addition to the standard filing fee.
Premium Service transactions may be submitted to the Registry at any time, but transactions must be submitted by 6 p.m. in order to guarantee a same day response.
In order to facilitate the Premium Service transactions the Registry has extended its business hours from 7:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. (BVI time) Monday to Friday.
The announcement of Premium Services has been widely welcomed by the industry. While services levels at the Registry are very high anyway the Premium Service option provides certainty to high value and otherwise important transactions.
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.
