Seychelles offshore company formation

1. Setting up an offshore company in the Seychelles
2. Obligations of an offshore company incorporated in Seychelles
3. Seychelles company formation benefits
4. Seychelles offshore company disadvantages
5. Practical use of a Seychelles offshore company (Seychelles IBC)
6. Documents and information required to set up an offshore company in Seychelles
7. Seychelles offshore company taxation
8. Seychelles double tax treaties
9. Seychelles IBC (Seychelles International Business Company) documents
10. Seychelles facts
11. Seychelles Offshore Company Costs
12. Offshore Company Formation Prices in Seychelles in 2023

1. Setting up an offshore company in the Seychelles

Setting up a company in the Seychelles quick and easy. However, there are also many advantages to setting up your offshore company in this location. For offshore companies incorporated in Seychelles, there is no minimum share capital requirement, nor is there a minimum currency requirement. The annual maintenance cost of the company is fixed and therefore does not vary depending on the profitability of the company.

A well-functioning offshore system is very important in Seychelles, as the country generates significant revenue from it in addition to tourism. The government is therefore giving all the support it can to ensure that the environment is as favourable as possible for offshore companies to set up offshore. One of the favourable conditions is, for example, the Company registration within 24 hours.

Setting up a company starts with the payment of predetermined costs. These costs consist of government fees, the registered local agent, nominee directors and owners, and the costs of the registered office, lawyers and international certifications.

Seychelles has laws guaranteeing anonymity for investors and full tax exemption, but is not on the OECD blacklist due to the fact that it currently has a double tax treaty with 28 countries. Because of its double tax treaties and Mutual Legal Assistance Act, the OECD white list. In practice, information is only released in the case of a serious cross-border crime, which is examined by the local court. There is no phishing or automatic exchange of data with Hungary.

2. Obligations of an offshore company incorporated in Seychelles:

• Must have at least 1 shareholder, whose details are not in the company register
  You need a registered office and local representative in Seychelles, which we provide
• The minimum number of directors is 1, can be a company or an individual and from any country.
• Use of nominee directors and shareholders allowed
• Annual financial declaration not required (under usd 3.750.000 income)
• Sending documents (invoices, contracts) concerning the financial situation of the company 2 times a year
• a statement of the company's activities, place of business and the identity of the real owner

3. Benefits of incorporating in Seychelles:

• Fast company formation in up to 24 hours
• legal predictability
• Politically stable
• tax exemption
• A Seychelles company can issue an invoice in any currency.
• Minimum annual tax (in practice includes several other services necessary for the operation of the company)
• Foreign directors or shareholders accepted in 100%

4. Disadvantages of a Seychelles offshore company:

• Data on the financial and economic situation of the offshore company is required 2 times a year.
• opening a bank account in 2023 is now very much in question. Banks are generally reluctant to welcome offshore companies.
• in business, not everyone necessarily wants to do business with an offshore Seychelles company (international business company). For example, some countries, such as Slovakia, have introduced a withholding tax on invoices issued by offshore companies in low-tax countries with which they do not have a double taxation treaty.
• companies with offshore backgrounds are not allowed to participate in public procurement tenders in certain cases
• If you want an active company with a bank account, I suggest you check out the Starting a company in Dubai article on.

5. Practical use of a Seychelles offshore company (Seychelles offshore):

Every case is different, but there must be a purpose or problem that we need to look at to determine whether you can legally set up a Seychelles company or whether it is worthwhile for you to have an offshore company in Seychelles.We have 17 years of experience in this industry, however, due to the changing times, we would like to present only some of the most common uses we have seen in recent years:

• international trade (though less and less often due to bank accounts)
• before or after a marital division of assets (we have seen cases where someone placed their assets offshore x months after their divorce because the former spouse made further claims without taking into account the previous settlement.
• Simply keeping your financial details secret: we have clients who, although they are well-known personalities, run private, successful companies that make a living from the market. Once the whole country knows about it, journalists are eager to search the Hungarian company database, so that a whole country can then wonder how much dividends or how much profit was made last year.
• in many cases, incorporation can also provide a solution for people who have unresolved issues from the past and this secures his private wealth.
• Some customers who do the business in exchange for cryptocurrency are not tied to a specific location and so in most cases it is a solution for them.
• own property
• own a share in a business
• may have a claim
• own patents
• A holding company to manage more flexibly capital outflows and reinvestments between subsidiaries

6. Documents and information required to set up an offshore company in Seychelles:

• Passport or, failing that, identity card of the directors, shareholders or ultimate owners of the offshore company
• proof of address (possibly an address card, bank statement or utility bill) for directors, shareholders or ultimate owners of the company
• 3 company names, which can be requested and reserved in advance for the customer
• a short, simple business description
• in some cases, a business CV (every organisation now has to have a compliance check. If the World-Check in your system with a name similar to yours, the bureau needs to make sure that we are not dealing with a high-risk person.

7. Taxation of an offshore company in Seychelles

As with other offshore countries, the main condition for incorporation is that the company is not allowed to carry out economic activities in the country and cannot own real estate. In this case, you are not subject to corporation tax.

From offshore company must have a local representative, which we provide. As far as taxation is concerned, offshore companies in the Republic of Seychelles are not subject to corporate tax, this is regulated by the International Business Company (IBC) Act 1994. no annual accounts are required.

However, invoices and contracts issued by companies now have to be sent offline or online twice a year. This makes it much easier to run a business in the island state, and the processes are much faster, as there is no compulsory paperwork.

8. Seychelles double tax treaties

It has double tax treaties in force with Barbados, Botswana, Bermuda, Cyprus, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Jersey, Indonesia, China, Kenya, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mauritius, Oman, Qatar, South Africa, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Swaziland, Swaziland, United Arab Emirates, Vietnam, Bahrain, Belgium, Monaco, San Marino, Ethiopia, Zambia, Kuwait, Singapore, United Arab Emirates.

9. Seychelles IBC (Seychelles International Business Company) documents:

• Certificate of Incorporation
• Articles of Association (Articles of Association)
• Memorandum of Association (Memorandum)
• Appointment of the Director
• Register of Directors
• register of shareholders
• register of the final owner (beneficial owner)
• When a nominee service is required, the cooperation agreement between the principal and the nominee director and nominee shareholder.
• Declaration of beneficial ownership by the nominal shareholder
• General authorisation from the director to the beneficial owner

10. About Seychelles:

The coast of the Seychelles is surrounded by waves of the Indian Ocean. Located some 1600 km east of Africa, the tax haven is bordered by Madagascar to the northeast, Zanzibar to the west, Réunion and Mauritius to the south, and the Comoros and Mayotte to the southeast. The Republic of the Seychelles is made up of 155 islands covering 455 km2 and has a population of 82,000. It is also important to note that the state's main industries are offshore services and tourism and, most importantly for us, that its offshore laws are modelled on those of the British Virgin Islands.

Seychelles is one of the most popular offshore locations. The next advantage of the Seychelles is the confidentiality regime, which promises complete discretion to the owner, shareholders and other beneficiaries.

Seychelles currency is the Seychelles Rupee (SCR), 1 scr is around 25 forints or 7-8 dollar cents. In our experience, many shops accept Euros or US dollars, but we recommend using local currency for cash purchases. Changing money in Seychelles is also cheaper than changing at the airport, bank or hotel. Only use financial services in licensed shops. Bank cards are accepted almost everywhere.

11. Seychelles Offshore Company Costs:

There are set-up and maintenance costs if you decide that a tax haven is the ideal offshore state for you. Set-up costs are one-off and maintenance costs are payable annually, and include the annual tax payable, the annual fee for the registered agent, the annual fee for the registered office and other legal, administrative and certification fees.

For an annual fee, it is possible to use a named manager and a named owner, which has the advantage of further increasing discretion. The register of companies does not include details of the owners and directors, only the address of the registered office and the registered representative's details, while the directors' details must be registered with the Companies Registry. The details of directors and shareholders are available at the registered office. If necessary, any documents can be notarised or Apostille-lel.

12. Seychelle Offshore Company Formation Prices in 2023:

The price includes the preparation and filing of company incorporation documents, government fees, notary certification and apostille, the fee for the registered office for 1 year, the annual fee for the mandatory representative and all other costs necessary for the operation of the company.

1. year with start-up costs: 990€, from year 2 onwards annual maintenance fee: 700€
2. year with set-up costs with anonymous registration: €1400, in the following years €1100.

You can find our other company formation prices here.