Updated Economic Substance Rules (2023-02-24)

Summary

This is a short notice from the BVI International Tax Authority (ITA) announcing that it has published an updated version of the Rules governing economic substance and beneficial ownership reporting. The update does not itself create new legal requirements but reflects recent legislative amendments and clarifies existing terms and reporting obligations.

• Economic Substance Act amendment: Reflects the Economic Substance (Companies and Limited Partnerships) (Amendment) Act, 2021 (No. 30 of 2021).
• BOSSs Act amendment: Reflects the Beneficial Ownership Secure Search System (Amendment) (No. 2) Act, 2021 (No. 42 of 2021).
• Purpose of update: Provides clarity on terms and reporting obligations that were extended or introduced by these amendments.
• Access: The updated Rules are available on the ITA website under Library > Legislation > Action 5 (Economic Substance) > Rules.

The notice directs affected persons to consult the updated Rules directly and provides ITA contact emails for questions, but does not itself impose new deadlines or filing requirements.

Key obligations

• Entities subject to the Economic Substance Act and BOSSs Act should review the updated Rules to ensure their reporting practices reflect the clarified terms and obligations.

Applies to

companies, limited partnerships, registered agents, entities subject to economic substance requirements, entities subject to beneficial ownership reporting under the BOSSs Act