COMPANY IN SEYCHELLES

Seychelles is incredibly popular not only as a vacation destination, but also as an international offshore region. The Seychelles government intensively supports the inflow of foreign investment and businesses into the country, offering foreign companies and start-ups favorable conditions for development and promotion.

Obvious advantages of Seychelles are as follows:

• high level of privacy;
• political stability;
• no currency control;
• no requirements for the mandatory audit and submission of financial statements.

As such, the region's strengths make it one of the leaders in offshore zones that are attractive to start-ups and booming companies.

Which form of business is it better to establish?

An IBC (International Business Company) remains the most profitable (and target) organizational and legal form of doing business in Seychelles — it is traditional for offshore companies. The undoubted advantages of the IBC are as follows:

• it can be established by foreigners;
• minimum requirements for accounting records;
• minimum number of shareholders is 1;
• founder can be either an individual or a legal entity;
• nominee managers are allowed;
• no residency requirements.

Each company must have its own internal register of beneficiaries, but access to this database is closed to third parties. As such, the IBC remains the most beneficial option for registering a business, despite some strengthening of control over this organizational and legal form.

Required documents

The following documents are required to register a business in Seychelles:

• Charter;
• Registration certificate;
• Resolution of the appointment of the first director;
• Register of directors;
• Minutes of the first meeting of directors;
• Register of shareholders;
• Share certificate;
• Share distribution certificate;
• Power of attorney.

All documents must be translated into English. Cortax can help businesses with professional translation of the certificates and advice on choosing an appropriate organization structure.

Taxes in Seychelles

Seychelles is a classic offshore zone attracting many private companies willing to get rid of excessive tax regulation. That is why there are strong tax breaks in the region:

• income tax is 0%;
• capital gains tax is 0%;
• dividend tax is 0%.

The only significant tax is VAT with a base rate of 15%. There is also an income tax (introduced by amendments to the IBC) with a 15% rate, but it is not charged from entities that receive their income outside Seychelles.

If you want to set up a business in one of the most famous offshore zones in the world, then Seychelles is a great option for a start-up. Cortax will help you with translation of documents, navigation in the legislation of the islands, and other specifics of the company registration.