DOING BUSINESS IN SEYCHELLES IN 2022
Since 2003, Bejarano ADF Consultants Group PLC has been efficiently and effectively assisting our Clients with i) Seychelles business registration ii) business licensing iii) Seychelles business banking solutions iv) visa options and staff recruitment strategies and v) workspace rental solutions.
Compare different Seychelles entities | Offshore company | Fast solution | Seychelles ITZ | Special license company | LLC | Branch office |
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Also known as | International Business Co. | Fast solution | International trade zone | CSL | Proprietary company | Branch office |
Best use of company? | International trading | Close a deal now | Manuf/ trading | DTAA access | Trading with local customers | Specific projects |
Invoice Clients/sign sales contracts after? | 3 weeks | 1 week | 6 weeks | 6 weeks | 6 weeks | 6 weeks |
How soon can you hire staff? | 3 weeks | 1 week | 6 weeks | 6 weeks | 6 weeks | 6 weeks |
How soon can you sign a lease agreement? | Immediately | Immediately | Immediately | Immediately | Immediately | Immediately |
How long to supply bank A/C numbers? | 7 weeks | 3 weeks | 10 weeks | 10 weeks | 10 weeks | 10 weeks |
How long for co. reg/tax nos? | 3 weeks | 1 week | 6 weeks | 6 weeks | 6 weeks | 6 weeks |
Corporate tax rate on annual net profits? | 0% | 0% | 0% | 1.5% | Up to 33% | Up to 33% |
Limited liability entity? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Res. director/partner/ legal rep. required? | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes |
Min. paid up share capital? | US$1 | US$1 | US$1 | US$1 | US$1 | None |
Corporate bank account location? | Barclays | Nouvobank | Bank of Ceylon | Bank of Baroda | Habib Bank | Nouvobank |
VAT payable on sales to local customers? | No local sales allowed | No local sales allowed | 15% | 15% | 15% | 15% |
Average total business set up costs? | US$10,160 | TBD | US$18,850 | US$9,950 | US$7,900 | US$11,250 |
Average total engagement period? | 10 weeks | 6 weeks | 13 weeks | 13 weeks | 13 weeks | 13 weeks |
Accounting and tax considerations | Offshore company | Fast solution | Seychelles ITZ | Special license company | LLC | Branch office |
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Statutory corporate tax payable? | 0% | 0% | 0% | 1.5% | Up to 33% | Up to 33% |
Legally tax exempt if properly structured? | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
Must file an annual tax return? | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Must file annual financial statements? | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Must appoint an auditor? | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Access to double taxation treaties? | No | No | Yes | Yes, with local director | Yes | Yes |
W/h tax on payments to foreign shareholders? | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 15% | 15% |
Company Registration | Offshore company | Fast solution | Seychelles ITZ | Special license company | LLC | Branch office |
Min. number shareholders/partners? | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | Parent company |
Maximum shareholding for foreigners? | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
Min. statutory paid up share capital? | US$1 | US$1 | US$1 | US$1 | US$1 | None |
Recommended paid up capital? | US$1 | US$1 | US$100,000 | US$1 | US$1 | None |
Shelf companies available? | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No |
Time to incorporate a new entity? | 3 weeks | 1 week | 6 weeks | 6 weeks | 6 weeks | 6 weeks |
Can easily convert to a PLC? | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Public register shareholders/directors? | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
Can have preference shareholders? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Business Considerations | Offshore company | Fast solution | Seychelles ITZ | Special license company | LLC | Branch office |
Requires physical office? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Requires local staff? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Requires local expenditure? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Requirement of UBO declaration | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Economic substance filing? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Good entity for trademark registration? | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Can secure an import and export license? | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Government grants available? | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Can bid for Government contracts? | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Can secure trade finance? | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
The entity will likely be regulated by? | Seychelles Financial Services Authority | Seychelles Financial Services Authority | Seychelles Financial Services Authority | Seychelles Financial Services Authority | Seychelles Business Register | Seychelles Business Register |
Expatriate to local staff ratio? | Click link | Click link | Click link | Click link | Click link | Click link |
Sponsorship by a local citizen required? | No |
Client must travel for business set up? | No |
Local resident bank signatory needed? | No |
Can be wholly foreign owned? | Yes |
Govt. approval required for foreign owners? | No |
Security deposit kept with govt? | No |
Minimum number of directors/managers? | 1 |
Monthly VAT reporting to the Government? | Yes |
Must sign an office lease agreement? | Yes |
Group HQ tax incentives? | No |
S/holder/director docs attested/translated? | Yes |
Foreign director needs personal tax no.? | No |
Foreign director needs a residence visa? | No |
Maximum number of staff allowed? | No maximum number for any entity |
Residence visa for business owner? | Yes |
Other useful information | |
Included in customer sales invoice? | Click link |
Seychelles free trade agreements? | Yes |
Seychelles is a member of WIPO/TRIPS? | Yes |
Seychelles is a member of the ICSID? | Yes |
Average custom duties suffered? | 2.82% |
Govt foreign investment approval required? | No |
Average monthly office rent (US$/sq m)? | 15 |
Minimum statutory monthly salary? | 297 |
Average monthly US$ salary for local skills? | 838 |
US$ deposit interest rate? (1 year average) | 3.05 |
Overseas remittance currency controls? | None |
Banking considerations | |
Multi-currency bank accounts available? | Yes |
Corporate visa debit cards available? | Yes |
Quality of e-banking platform? | Good |
Crowd funding available in this country? | Yes |
Seychelles company registration summary
Press the link headings below to read detailed, relevant, up to date information.
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Benefits and problems
Benefits of Seychelles company registration
- Bejarano ADF Consultants can register an offshore company in Seychelles within two weeks, with just one director and one shareholder. The minimum share capital is US$1;
- It is simple to register an offshore company in the Seychelles because:
- Seychelles International Business Companies (IBC) are the most common type of offshore companies in the country. They can be registered with only i) one shareholder ii) one director and a capital of US$1;
- Seychelles IBCs can be managed from abroad: resident directors are not required and a resident registered agent will be responsible to maintain company records after Seychelles business registration;
- Our Clients registering a Seychelles IBC will not have to file i) annual returns nor ii) annual financial statements, although the latter must be prepared and kept at the company office in the Seychelles;
- French and English are official languages in Seychelles. Most of our Clients will hence not face any translation related costs when registering their company in the Seychelles.
- A Seychelles offshore company enables our Clients to minimize taxation on their global earnings because:
- The earnings of a Seychelles IBC company are fully tax-exempt in the Seychelles, as this company is not considered as resident for tax purposes;
- Alternatively, our Clients can register a Seychelles Company with a Special License company (CSL). Such company is tax resident but benefits from a reduced corporate tax rate of 1.5% over its global earnings;
- By appointing two resident directors, owners of a registered Seychelles CSL will also enable the company to access Seychelles’ double tax avoidance treaties, henceforth reducing or waiving withholding tax on earnings remitted from the list of 39 countries which have signed a DTA with the Seychelles;
- Our Clients will be able to easily repatriate their earnings outside Seychelles, as earnings from offshore companies are exempted from withholding tax and the Archipelago does not implement any i) foreign exchange or ii) capital controls.
- Protection of the company privacy and its details:
- There are no publicly accessible records of the details of the beneficial owners of a Seychelles incorporated company;
- There are no statutory requirements for annual filing of accounts of the company’s returns for IBCs;
- The IBCs therefore enjoy an added advantage of incurring less costs per year along with the benefit of having privacy for the company’s asset holding and financial records.
- Seychelles company renewal is completed in just one day;
- The Seychelles is working on a new consumer protection bill for the financial sector. This aims to make the banking system more transparent, more competitive, and better protect data;
- In 2020 the government launched a scheme to support SMEs during the Covid-19 downturn;
- Seychelles International Trade Zones (ITZs) issued 963 permits in 2019. ITZs are an attractive option for multinational Clients because i) there are no work permit fees for foreign workers ii) quick clearing of imports/exports iii) 0% tax on business profits and withholding tax.
Problems with Seychelles company registration
- Since 1 January 2019, Seychelles entities must comply with the new economic substance requirements. Consequently, a local physical office, staff and active directors is required.
- In February 2020, the Seychelles was added to the European Union’s (EU) tax havens blacklist for its failure to enforce ESRs on local companies. As a result, in 2020 and 2021 i) there is a 50% probability that the Seychelles will again be blacklisted by the EU or another western government and ii) it will become even more challenging to secure and maintain multicurrency corporate bank account numbers for Seychelles LLCs.
- Seychelles SLCs must appoint i) two resident directors and ii) one resident company secretary. If needed, Bejarano ADF Consultants will be pleased to provide our Clients with nominee services;
- The local currency (the Seychellois rupee) is highly volatile. Entrepreneurs interested in establishing a business in the Seychelles should be cautious of the exchange rate risk;
- Seychelles is not a globally competitive economy for conducting business. Seychelles’ 76th rank in the 2019Global Competitiveness Index proves the same. Being a tourism-dependent economy along with having an under-developed financial market, Seychelles’ has not been successful in achieving competitiveness and global presence for its economy;
- Seychelles ranks 72nd on the 2020 Index of Economic Freedom;
- Seychelles ranks 44th on the Corporate Tax Haven Index 2019. The index notes that Seychelles’ corporate tax policies are ‘corrosive’ to the global economy;
- A Seychelles IBC cannot offer banking and investment services to third parties, trust services to third parties, as well as gambling and casino services.
- Non-resident Seychelles LLCs must annually supply the government evidence that the entity is tax-resident overseas including i) foreign tax registration numbers and ii) foreign tax returns.
- Opening an international bank account for a newly-incorporated Seychelles company is challenging. Most banks will require the company to have ‘substance’ in the Seychelles or proof of business. That said, if the company can demonstrate substance and/or proof of business, opening an overseas corporate bank account can take as little as one month.
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Best uses for a Seychelles company
- A Seychelles offshore company is a confidential business vehicle, because:
- There is no public register of shareholders and directors maintained in Seychelles for Seychelles offshore business entities;
- IBC companies registered in the Seychelles are not required to file annual financial statements;
- Seychelles has signed less than 21 tax information exchange treaties;
- The Archipelago’s bank secrecy regulations are ranked as the 2nd most protective in the world after Samoa, according to the Tax Justice Network.
- Note that, in February 2020, the Seychelles were added to the European Union’s (EU) tax havens blacklist for its failure to implement ‘economic substance’ requirements on local companies in order to crack down on tax evasion.
- A Seychelles offshore company is a confidential business vehicle, because: