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BELIZE
Belize is a country
situated in the Central America, between Mexico and Guatemala. The territory of
the country is 22,923 square km. Population is 216,000 people. The official
language is English. Belize is a former British colony. It acquired the status
of an independent state in 1973. The legislative system is based on the British
law. The national currency is Belizian Dollar (BZ) pegged to the US Dollar at
the rate 2BZ/USD. Both currencies have circulation in the country.
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1 |
Corporate
Law |
The
International Business Companies Act of 1990 |
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2 |
The form
of tax-free company |
International
Business Company (IBC), hereinafter referred to as the “Company” |
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3 |
Permitted
activities |
Any
activity not prohibited by the law. A special
license for banking, insurance, reinsurance and trust operations is required. |
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4 |
Prohibited
activities |
Making
transactions with residents of Belize, owning real estate in the territory of
Belize |
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5 |
Taxation |
The
Company is free from any taxes and duties |
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6 |
The period
of registration |
Within 24
hours |
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7 |
The possibility
to buy a shelf company |
Yes |
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8 |
The name
of the Company |
Should not
be identical or similar to any existing one. The name should have the words:
“Limited”, “Corporation”, “Incorporated” or the abbreviations “Ltd.”, “Corp.”, “Inc”. The words: “Assurance”, “Bank”, “Building Society”, “Chamber of
Commerce”, “Chartered”, “Cooperative”, “Imperial”, “Insurance”, “Municipal”,
“Royal”, “Trust Company”, “Trustee Company” or other words and word
combinations having the same meaning may not be used in the name of an IBC. |
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9 |
The
documents required for the registration |
Memorandum
of incorporation, Articles of Association. It is required to provide the
notarized passport copy of the first Director. |
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10 |
Who signs the
incorporation documents? |
At least
two subscribers whose function is only to sign the incorporation documents
and appoint the first Director |
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11 |
The share
capital of the Company |
The share
capital of the company is authorized, there is
no requirement of obligatory payment and minimum and maximum size |
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12 |
The
recommended share capital |
USD 50,000
divided into 50,000 shares with the face value of USD 1. |
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13 |
Shares |
The issue of
registered shares and bearer shares is permitted, with the face value and
without it. The bearer
shares and
information about the beneficial owner of the Company should be kept with the
Registered Agent. If the Company has the administrator, bearer share
certificates and information about the beneficial owner of the Company should
be kept with administrator and according to the agreement should be provided
by the request of the Registered Agent. When issue
registered shares, it is necessary to provide the notarized passport copy of
Shareholder and his address. |
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14 |
Shareholders: -- minimum
number -- nominee
shareholders -- trust
ownership of shares |
a single
private individual or corporate entity permitted
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15 |
Whether the
law provides non-disclosure of the information: -- on the
beneficial owner of the Company -- on
banking operations |
Yes |
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16 |
Directors: -- minimum
number -- ethnic
origin and nationality -- status |
A single
private individual or coporate entity No
requirements
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17 |
The existence
in the territory of Belize of: --
registered office --
registered agent |
Obligatory Obligatory |
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18 |
Holding of
shareholders/ directors meeting |
The
meetings may be held in any part of the world, telephone conference is also
possible. The minutes of the meetings may be kept in any place. |
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19 |
The
requirement of: -- the
accounting --
preparing the annual report --
submission of the auditors’ opinion |
None None
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20 |
The
information kept with the registration agent |
The name
of the registration agent and the registration office, registration
documents, the register of shareholders and directors. |
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21 |
Double
taxation avoidance treaties |
Signed with Great Britain, Sweden, and
Denmark. It is not valid for IBC. |
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22 |
Currency
control |
None |