Services · Audit & accounts for foreign companies

Accounts and audit in the British Virgin Islands

Updated 6 October 2026

Since 2023 every BVI company files an annual financial return with its agent. We prepare the return, file it on time and, if needed, arrange an audit for the owner's tax country.

Since 1 January 2023 every British Virgin Islands company has had to file an annual financial return with its registered agent once a year. Before that, BVI companies could go years without preparing any accounts; now it is a direct obligation under the BVI Business Companies Act. The return is filed with the agent rather than on the public register, so the company's details do not become public, but the agent must provide them when the authorities ask.

What a company files and when

The first returns cover financial years starting after the rules took effect on 1 January 2023, so the earliest due dates fell from 1 January 2024. The rule does not apply to listed companies or to companies regulated under financial services legislation that file accounts with the Financial Services Commission.

Late filing penalties

A late annual return costs $300 for the first month and $200 for each further month, up to $5,000. The agent must report a non-filing company to the Registrar, and a company with filing and fee arrears risks losing good standing and being struck off. Banks and counterparties increasingly ask for a certificate of good standing, so late filing also hits the company's account.

Is an audit required?

BVI law does not require an ordinary company to be audited: the annual financial return is enough. An audit is needed when someone else requires it. Most often this is the owner's country of tax residence: exempting a controlled foreign company's profit from tax often requires audited accounts. Banks, buyers of shares and regulators also ask for an audit if the company holds a licence.

How we prepare the accounts

1. Collecting documents. Bank statements, contracts, details of loans and assets. For an inactive company we confirm there were no transactions.
2. Preparing the return. We consolidate the year's transactions into the annual financial return format that agents accept.
3. Checking before filing. We reconcile the return with the bank statements so the agent accepts it without queries.
4. Filing with the agent within 9 months, with a copy kept by the agent.
5. Audit, if needed. We arrange an audit for the owner's tax purposes and apostille the accounts for foreign banks and tax authorities.

Common mistakes

• Not filing for an inactive company. The obligation covers every company, even without transactions.
• Counting the deadline from the annual fee date. The nine months run from the end of the company's financial year.
• No bank statements for the year. Without them the return cannot be prepared, and an agent will not accept a blank form from a company that traded.
• Forgetting the economic substance report. It is filed separately from the financial return: see BVI economic substance.

BVI company accounts and Russian CFC rules

If the owner is a Russian tax resident with a stake above 25% (or above 10% when Russian residents together own more than half), the company is a controlled foreign company for them. The CFC notification is filed by 30 April of the following year together with the company's annual financial statements.

Russia has no double tax treaty with the British Virgin Islands. So the profit of such a company can be calculated from its accounts only if there is an auditor's report without an adverse opinion. Without an audit the profit is recalculated under Russian corporate tax rules, which takes longer and usually costs more. That is why we carry out audits of accounts for CFC purposes.

Profit of up to 10 million rubles a year is not taxed in Russia, but the notification is filed anyway. Failing to file costs a fine of about $5,900 per company. We handle the notification and the profit calculation as part of our CFC notifications and reporting service.

Other countries are covered in the audit and accounts for foreign companies section.

What we do

We prepare and check the annual financial return, file it with the agent, arrange an audit for tax purposes, apostille the accounts and advise on accounting, tax and law. The annual return for an active company costs from $950 with us, for an inactive one $1,100, and an audit for controlled foreign company purposes $2,380. The full price list is in the table below. If the company is moving to another country, see BVI redomiciliation to the UAE; forming a new company is covered on BVI company registration.

Fees

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