What are the advantages of a Seychelles IBC over other IBC's?

The main benefits are lower costs, higher availability of names, no requirement to prepare financial statements, data protection and fast order processing and delivery. Qualified professional intermediaries may continue to hold identification and verification documents of their end clients and Seychelles registered agents may still rely on the due diligence of professional intermediaries in many cases.

You can make a IBC in the Seychelles, for example, for less than the government fee of a BVI firm!

At the time of writing ([current_date format='Y']), Seychelles had around 220,000 IBCs registered, compared to well over a million in the BVI. Clearly, there is still a lot of potential in Seychelles.

Directors of an IBC in Seychelles are required to keep accounting records such as bank statements, invoices, receipts and contracts for material (important) transactions, but they are not required to prepare financial statements (profit and loss account, balance sheet and cash flow statement). There are NO obligation to submit such declarations, and there is NO Obligation to have such declarations audited.

Bearer shares have not been allowed in Seychelles since 16 December 2013. Some jurisdictions have opted to charge a higher annual fee, but Seychelles has decided to simplify its offerings by having registered shares only. When bearer shares were abolished in Seychelles, it was estimated that only about 10% of IBCs had issued bearer shares and bearer shares were already losing popularity with banks and customers in general. We understand that Panama is the only other jurisdiction that still allows true bearer shares to be issued.

Interestingly, Seychelles has managed to remain on the OECD white list and pass Phase I of the Global Forum Peer Review while retaining all the attractive features of the International Business Company offering. This is mainly because a Seychelles IBC offers no advantage to a foreigner over a Seychelles resident. A resident of Seychelles can own and manage a Seychelles IBC and benefit from all the advantages of a Seychelles IBC including tax exemptions. There are no demarcation claims. Seychelles has a territorial tax system so that only income from a source in Seychelles is taxed. Seychelles was one of the first jurisdictions assessed by the OCED Global Forum for the Phase II tests and will certainly pass an updated review. Seychelles wants to be a compliant jurisdiction.

Seychelles is not a dependency of the UK and the British Crown, nor is it a dependency of any EU Member State. This means that it has more freedom to make its own rules, particularly in relation to public filings and beneficial owner requirements.

You can find more and further information in our Lexicon/Glossary or in the IBC Act.