The British Virgin Islands Business Companies (Amendment) Act has been enacted in the House of Assembly and has probably come into force already.

The Financial Services Commission, the islands' financial regulator, very recently said that it expected Royal Assent to fall on New Year's Day or shortly thereafter. Its website has not confirmed this yet, but confirmation is expected imminently.

The register of directors

All BVI business companies on the register are, or will be, required to send off registers of directors to the Registry of Corporate Affairs. The commission anticipates that the transition period for existing companies to do this will run from 1 April, 2016 to 31 March, 2017.

Fee structures for the registers

A new section 118A prescribes the information that each register ought to contain. Companies can send them off without having to pay 'filing fees' before 30 September.

Between 1 October 2016 and 31 March 2017, when the transitional period for sending off registers ends, the filing fee will be $25 per company. After that ends, every company that was on the register at the time when the amendment took effect that has not asked for and received an extension will have to pay $50. The BVI's economy is 'dollarised' and therefore uses US dollars.

Batch submission for registers

The FSC will provide a template data entry file/form to facilitate batch electronic uploads of information on directors for BVI BCs. Once a company has uploaded the information, its registered agent will be able to select and confirm the companies for which it wishes to send off registers. A company/agent that submits details about its directors using the batch filing process does not have to enter them individually in VIRRGIN. [The Virtual Integrated Registry General Information System.]