General information about Seychelles
Currently, the Seychelles is an attractive international financial centre with modern legislation that meets international standards. This is one of the popular jurisdictions in the East African region with a favourable tax regime and for business, this remains the preferred location for offshore company registration in the Seychelles
-The Seychelles are a group of islands in the Indian Ocean east of Africa.
-The largest island is Mahe.
-Republic of Seychelles is independent state (since 1976),
-Member of the British Commonwealth.
-The capital city is Victoria.
-Official languages are French, Seychellois (Creole) and English.
-The national currency is the Seychelles rupee (SCR).
-Includes elements of English common law and French civil law. Main law: Constitution of 1993
-International tourism and commercial fishing are the main sectors of the economy. International corporate services and the financial sector also make up a significant share.
-Companies registered in Seychelles are widely used in international business activities. A popular corporate product for non-residents is international business companies (IBC). Along with them, it is possible to register private foundations (having the status of a legal entity) and international trusts.
-Significant corporate and tax law reforms have recently been adopted to ensure compliance with the latest international standards in the field of tax transparency and anti-money laundering.
-The government regulator of companies is the Financial Services Agency (FSA).
Established taxes of offshore companies in Seychelles
– Offshore in the Seychelles is no longer completely tax-free since the territorial principle of taxation was introduced in the country in 2019. This means that only those companies that receive income from Seychelles sources are subject to taxation in Seychelles. Thus, in this case, the international company continues to enjoy benefits, since an international company registered in the Seychelles by non-residents and receiving income from activities outside the Seychelles is not subject to taxation.
– New rules have been introduced regarding passive income. If we are talking about a Seychelles company that is part of an international group of companies and does not have sufficient economic presence in Seychelles, the latest rules (2020-2021) provide for taxation even of those income that the company received from activities outside the Seychelles, including its passive income (such as dividends, interest, royalties, rent). It is therefore expected that a significant number of Seychelles IBC companies, having become liable to pay Seychelles tax on their overseas passive income, may lose the benefit of the territorial tax regime.
– The standard tax rate on income received from sources in the Seychelles is 25% for the first 1,000,000 SCR (about 75,000 USD) and 33% on the amount above this threshold.
Reporting and accounting of offshore companies in Seychelles
-In the absence of income received from sources in the Seychelles, offshore IBC companies are not required to submit financial statements to government authorities and are not required to conduct financial audits.
-For international companies, there are a number of requirements for the storage of corporate and financial records, for non-compliance with which penalties are provided.
-The 2021 Tax Law Reform requires Seychelles companies to ensure that they maintain accounting records such as bank statements, receipts, invoices, contracts and other supporting documents at their registered address in Seychelles (i.e. at the office of their registered agent) for the previous 7 years. In the future, such documentation for each past six months must be sent to the Seychelles every six months. Previously, the company had the right to store its financial records in any location (both in the Seychelles and abroad) by notifying the registered agent of the location of such storage.
Confidentiality and international information sharing of offshore companies in Seychelles
-Information about the directors, shareholders and beneficial owners of the company is confidential. Under normal circumstances, this information is available only to the local registered agent and the bank where the company’s account is opened.
-However, it is important to consider that the jurisdiction has already created a centralized register of beneficial owners of companies. The register information is not publicly available, but local courts, law enforcement agencies, the Financial Services Agency, the Registrar of Companies and others will be able to access it. Beneficial owners of Seychelles companies are required to provide the registered agent with information about themselves to the extent required by law, and the registered agent, in turn, is obliged to maintain and maintain a register of the company’s beneficiaries and submit the relevant information to a centralized database. For failure to fulfill these obligations, fines are provided for both registered agents and the beneficiaries themselves
-Seychelles participates in the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, as amended by the 2010 Protocol (entered into force on October 1, 2015) and the Multilateral Agreement on the Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information (CRS MCAA). Seychelles started automatic exchange in practice in September 2017.
-At the beginning of 2022, the Seychelles participates in double taxation agreements with the following countries and territories: Bahrain, Barbados, Belgium, Bermuda, Botswana, Vietnam, Guernsey, Jersey, Zambia, Indonesia, Qatar, Kenya, Cyprus, China, Luxembourg, Mauritius, Malaysia, Monaco, UAE, Oman, Isle of Man, San Marino, Swaziland, Singapore, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, South Africa.
-Seychelles participates in bilateral Tax Information Exchange Agreements (TIEA) with the following countries and territories: Guernsey, Greenland, Denmark, India, Iceland, NetherlandsNorway, Faroe Islands, Finland, Switzerland, Sweden.-In 2021, the Seychelles were excluded from the so-called “black list” of the European Union, which includes jurisdictions that do not cooperate with EU countries in the tax field.
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If you wish to register a company in Seychelles our team will be happy to help you there and provide you with more detailed information, you can contact us at [email protected]
Offshore companies in Seychelles
Related information: Seychelles Company Formation
