Company Registration Global Registration

Formation of Cayman Islands Company

The Cayman Islands once being a part of British Empire, later on, became a British Overseas Territory. The Cayman Islands is considered to be a tax haven Country since there lies no Income Tax and has an easy offshore incorporation process. This type of Cayman Islands company exempted company has become a popular choice for the foreign people because of its features such as tax-free benefits and confidentiality and privacy provided to the shareholders.

The corporate law of Cayman Island attracts the International Business and various other offshore investors because of its developed and stable economy and also the local support services provided for carrying out the business is also attractive to investors. The principal Corporate Legislation governing is The Companies Laws, 2007 as amended from time to time.

Market Opportunities

The Cayman Island’s Government has always been stable and strong due to its banking system, offshore corporations, and tourism which help in the development of a strong and well established corporate structure. Thus it provides great opportunities to reach for this type of corporations as it is flexible and easy to be incorporated. The most beneficial point for the investors is that it is considered to be a tax haven market as it is exempted from major taxes. This type of corporation is allowed to have one director and one shareholder which can be a same entity or person. No other directors, shareholders or officers are required which attracts a lot of offshore investors

Types of Corporations

There are four types of Companies commonly registered in the Cayman Islands under the Company Law:

• Ordinary Resident Company
• Ordinary Non-resident Company
• Exempted Company
• Exempted Limited duration Company

What is the Company Incorporation Process in the Cayman Islands?

One of the basic information that is required under the incorporation process in the Cayman Islands is that a set of Memorandum of Association which is substituted by the shareholders along with other relevant incorporation fees is to be prepared. An application in this respect needs to be duly notarized.

The memorandum of the company should set forth the main objects, name, and type and authorized capital of the Company. It should also specify the type of shares held by the Company and the name and addresses of the subscribers of the Company. The Articles of Association of the company should specify the internal operations to be carried by the company and also should specify the powers of directors and officers. There exist a high level and well-established mechanism for co-operation with law enforcement agencies, in both local and overseas market which ensure a high standard of probity through the Cayman’s financial industry.

Corporate name: the name in the Cayman Islands requires a level of awareness as there are few restrictions on the name proposed. A corporation name is supposed to be unique and not similar to any other corporation. Also, words like “bank”, “Insurance”, Mutual Fund, etc cannot be used. It is advised to check the name selections that whether they are both available and usable before proceeding for the incorporation process.

In order to form a Cayman Islands Corporation, one needs to have a registered agent and registered office which is inclusive of the services of formation of the corporation. Once the process of registration is complete, the turnaround time for receiving the certificate of incorporation is anywhere from one to four days which depends on the documentation and other registration turnaround time.

What are the advantages of Company Formation in the Cayman Islands?

Confidentiality:

This type of Company gives maximum level of confidentiality and anonymity to its investors.  The documents relating to conducting of the business like the register of shareholders, minutes are not supposed to be compulsorily registered with the Cayman Islands Government and are free to be kept anywhere in the world. This gives a sense of security and confidentiality among the business owners.

Tax Exemption:

There is no extra layer of tax that needs to be paid by the investors who have already paid in their home country. This empowers the companies to move in a positive direction by impacting the cost and conducting the ongoing business. The fact that there is no additional layer of tax and regulation ensures that incorporation and ongoing costs are low with high standards as done. Cayman Islands Income tax that is it is exempted from all dividends, interest, royalties and other amounts paid by the Company. Also, all the capital gains in respect of shares, debt, and other securities are exempt. Last but not the least all transactions; instruments relating to transfers of any type of assets, shares, debt, other obligations are exempt.

No Minimum Capital Requirements /Nil Disclosure:

There is a mandatory clause of minimum capital that needs to be invested at the time of Incorporation. Also, no such disclosure needs to be provided in respect of details of the company. The fact that it is not allowed to view the Register of Directors and officers, Register of shareholders adds on to the privacy of the investors. Furthermore, the accounts of the Company can be kept private in this form of Company.

Easy Incorporation/Speedy Incorporation:

The incorporation process is quick and easy in the Cayman Islands. Since there is no requirement of Government regulatory authority approvals and also the registration fees and annual renewal fees are low, the incorporation takes a day only. The incorporation process takes 1-2 days in the Cayman Islands.

Flexibility:

Since there is an ease of operation, maintenance, and control in this type of company, there exists a high level of flexibility in the formation of Cayman Islands Corporation. The most flexible thing that can be considered is that the Directors and officers are not required to be legal residents.

One Shareholder/One Director:

The Corporation in the Cayman Islands needs only a minimum of one shareholder and one Director.

Annual General Meetings:

After the Company is incorporated it adds to the benefit that it can hold the Annual General Meeting of the Company in any part of the world. Also, Cayman Islands Corporations are not required to file the annual reports to the registrar.

Mandatory requirements

Characteristics	Feature
Income Tax	Not applicable
Official language	English
Business to be conducted Internationally	Yes
Authorized Capital	Not required
Share transfer tax	Not required
Minimum number of Directors	One
Nonresident Directors	Allowed
Corporate Directors	Allowed
Minimum number of shareholders	One
Meetings of Directors/shareholders	Anywhere
Corporate seal	Mandatory
Auditing of Accounts	Not required
Filing of Accounts	Not required
Incorporation time	Around 1-4 days

Conclusion

The Cayman Islands is a British territory where English is the native language. There are many benefits to the corporations of the Cayman Islands such as economic stability, fast incorporation, and ability to own a corporation as sole shareholder and Director and also low registration fees. The confidentiality and privacy are considered to be the biggest benefits of Cayman’s Corporation as there need to be no financial records or shareholders names which need to be given or registered with the government. There is no access to the register of Directors, officers, shareholders by the public. Thus, having a Cayman’s Corporation help in achieving a tax-free and suitable corporation for the investors since a Cayman Exempted type of the company is one of the most popular types since it gives the foreigner business persons to hold offshore bank accounts and provides the privacy along with the tax benefits.

Also Read: Procedure of Foreign Company Registration in India