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The British Virgin Islands is a group of more that forty islands located in the Caribbean Sea approximately 60 miles east of Puerto Rico. The BVI is a British protected territory and a member of the British Commonwealth of Nations. It became self governing in 1967 and has a Legislative Council of thirteen members and an Executive Council comprising the Governor, the Attorney General and four Ministers draw from the Legislative Council. The official language is English.

The Government introduced its International Business Company (IBC) Legislation in 1984. The Legislation has proved so popular with the international community that BVI now is one of the world premier offshore financial centres. The BVI Business Companies Act 2004 ("the new Act") came into force on 1 January 2005. Companies previously incorporated under the International Business Companies Act continue to be subject to that statute until 1 January 2007 when they automatically become subject to the new Act. There are over 700,000 companies incorporated in BVI in the last almost 20 years.
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The legal system is based on English common law supplemented by local ordinances. The cornerstone of the corporate legislation is the International Business Companies Ordinance 1984. Companies incorporated under the Ordinance enjoy a complete exemption from tax. This includes an exemption from capital gains tax, stamp duty and all forms of withholding tax. There is no exchange control.
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The BVI has now attracted a healthy number of international accounting firms and international standard law firms. There are at present, relatively few banks and financial institutions. The Companies Registry in the BVI is technically advanced and efficient, and has kept pace with continuingly increasing demand.

There are no special statutory provisions governing secrecy in relation to companies, however statutory filing requirements are minimal and the ownership of shares and the name of directors are not available on the public records. The English common law which applies to the jurisdiction, does impose a common law duty on professionals to keep the affairs of their clients confidential.
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Each BC company must have a Registered Agent and Registered Office in the BVI, provided by a licensed trust company.

Each company must have a minimum of one director and corporate directors are permitted. No nationality requirements for directors. However, under the Business Companies (Amendment) Act 2005 "the New Act", every newly incorporated company will be required to appoint first directors within 6 months of the date of incorporation and the original or copy of the Register of Directors will be required to be kept at the office of the Registered Agent.

Each company must have a minimum of one shareholder and bearer shares are allowed. Under the new Act, bearer share certificates will have to be held by an "Authorised Custodian" or "Recognized Custodian". The Register of Shareholders or a copy thereof should be kept at the office of the Registered Agent. Details of the shareholders do not appear on any public record, although there are provisions for optional filling at the Registry of Corporate Affairs of this information if required. Often, it is advisable to keep the original register in the BVI for stamp duty reasons.

There are no requirements for Annual Returns, Annual Meetings or Audited Accounts.
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