Seychelles Offshore Corporations
Seychelles are the group of Independent islands in the Indian Ocean famous for being the venue of beauty pageants many times. It is a free country and not a colony like many similar small nations. English is widely spoken as they are a part of the British Commonwealth of Nations. Offshore activities were only begun not so long ago in 1994, but within a short period the Seychelles have become a very important offshore tax-haven.
All taxes are exempt for offshore companies in the country. Similar to Panama, there is no requirement for disclosure of owners; names. Besides bearer shares are allowed, exchange controls or restrictions don’t exist and there is no need for books, accounts or audited reports of any kind.
The Seychelles are free, independent and sovereign. Even though part of the commonwealth they are not a colony at present and do not get affected by laws of other countries that affect many British Territories and the Channel Islands.
The Companies Act 1994 governs the financial deals that take place in Seychelles.
Please note: Since 2009 the country has stopped charging higher fees for higher capitalization.
Offshore Business Laws
Laws are similar to that of other offshore centers. Seychelles still offers flexibilities where other centers have tightened the laws such as British Dependant Territories that have come under the purview of EU. The offshore company can use any unreserved name or a name currently not used in the Seychelles. Barred names and words not allowed are: Bank, Building Society, Chamber of Commerce, Insurance, or any word which hints towards relations with the Royal Family or Government. The company name may be a word of any language and valid suffixes used include: Limited or Ltd., Corporation or Corp., Incorporation or Inc., SA, GmbH, etc.
A minimum of 1 director is required, who can either be a real natural person or an entity like a Corporation. They can be from any nation and can reside anywhere they want in the country. AGMs are not mandatory and the meetings can be held in any country.
About The Seychelles
The Seychelles has over one 100 named islands, the largest island being Mahe. The port of Mahe has enough space for container traffic. Modern infrastructure allows handling of high storage volume. 6 large sea vessels can be housed in the harbor. Seychelles population is around 78,000 and is a melting pot of various ethnicities. The main driver of the economy is tourism here unlike other centres where the offshore deals are the primary and only means of Income. There is a Free Trade Zone that is now accelerating development in the country.
Communications Infrastructure
The international airport has an almost 3 km long runway and is replete with all the modern facilities for both passengers as well as cargo. The airport is one of the best in that region. Air Seychelles is the country’s official carrier besides many others. Cable & Wireless PLC. Handles the communications setup-up in the country which has installed a few Earth Stations for a world class communication standards.
