Amendments have been made to legislation in Bermuda applicable to overseas companies that have obtained a license to engage in or carry on a trade or business in Bermuda pursuant to Section 134 of the Companies Act, 1981 ("permit companies"). The applicable legislation was initially tabled under the Companies Amendment Act 2017 and amended on 6 October 2017 under the Companies Amendment (No. 2) Act 2017.

Pursuant to the legislative amendments, the annual fee payable to the Bermuda Government for permit companies carrying on certain types of business has been increased. The revised applicable fees are summarised below:

PERMIT COMPANY DESCRIPTION FEE
(a) Permit company is one which is engaging in or carrying on, in Bermuda, wholesale trading business in respect of petroleum and other oils or liquefied petroleum gas 19,330
(b) Permit company whose principal business is finance business or insurance business or open ended mutual fund business 4,125
(c) Permit company whose business includes the management of any unit trust fund; in respect of each trust fund managed by the permit company as at the date of the relevant declaration under section 135 2,905
(d) In cases not falling within (a) to (c) above, a permit company which does not have a physical presence in Bermuda but whose principal business falls within one of the specified categories set out below:
  • the ownership, commercial management or operation of ships or aircraft;
  • pharmaceutical operations;
  • research and development in bio-science or bio-medicine; or
  • a charitable purpose, within the meaning of the Charities Act 2014, which would enable the permit company to be registered as a charity under that Act if it were established as such in Bermuda.
 1,995
(e) Permit company not maintaining a physical presence in Bermuda and whose principal business does not fall within one of the specified categories listed in (d) above. 25,000

A permit company will have a physical presence in Bermuda for the purposes of the legislation if it operates from Bermuda with staff and management present in Bermuda, has an affiliate that does so, or is a member of a group, one of the members of which operates in that manner.

The revised fees will be payable on or before 31 March 2018.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.