The Directors Registration and Licensing Law, 2014 (the "Law") came into force on 4 June 2014.1
The Law requires that the directors (both natural persons and corporate directors) of "covered entities"2 be either registered or licensed with the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority ("CIMA") in accordance with the Law.
Annual Fees and Information Update for Registration or License
On or before 15 January 2015 each registered or licensed director (whether they are a natural person or corporate director) must provide CIMA with information in a prescribed form and pay their annual fee for 2015. Failure to pay the annual fee by 15 January 2015 will give rise to a penalty surcharge of one-twelfth of the annual fee for every month or part of a month that the fee remains unpaid.
The annual fees are as follows:
- In respect of a registered director, CI$700 (US$853.65);
- In respect of a licensed professional director, CI$3,000 (US$3,658.48); and
- In respect of a licensed corporate director, CI$8,000 (US$9,755.96).
We understand that CIMA plans to send an email to all registered/licensed directors in December 2014 reminding them of the requirement to pay the annual fee and provide the required information (we understand that CIMA will use the email addresses provided by each director).
The payment of annual fees and the provision of information are expected to be processed online through CIMA's dedicated website.
We understand that CIMA's website will be "open" to allow the payment of annual fees once CIMA has sent out the email alert to all directors reminding them of the annual fee requirements. In any event, we recommend that registered and licensed directors log on to CIMA's dedicated website early in the new year to complete the annual requirements in advance of 15 January 2015.
This client update is intended primarily as a calendar reminder to directors that are registered or licensed under the Law to attend to the annual requirements. For a complete discussion of the registration and licensing requirements of the Law please see our previous update entitled CIMA Requires the Registration or Licensing of Certain Types of Directors dated 5 June 2014.
De-registration under the Law
Directors who do not pay the annual fee on or before 15 January 2015 will be charged a penalty surcharge of one-twelfth of the annual fee for every month or part of a month that the fee remains unpaid. Failure to pay the annual fee does not result in the de-registration of a director under the Law. If a director wishes to de-register he may surrender his registration upon application to CIMA in the prescribed form and upon payment to CIMA of a de-registration fee of CI$600 (approximately US$732). If a director is considering de-registration and is able to do so prior to year end, he will need to have completed the process prior to 31 December 2014 in order to avoid the 2015 fees becoming due and payable.3
Footnotes
1. With the exception of certain provisions of the Law regarding "capacity" of directors, which remain to be brought into force.
2. A "covered entity" is (i) a company regulated by CIMA as mutual funds under the Mutual Funds Law (2013 Revision); or (ii) a company registered with CIMA as an "excluded persons" under certain heads of the Securities Investment Business Law (2011 Revision) ("SIBL") (specifically, paragraphs 1 and 4 of the Fourth Schedule to SIBL – essentially managers of group companies and those under the "investment manager" head.
3. Note that the annual fee requirement is based on the calendar year, but late payment penalties are not applied until 15 January each year.
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.
