Company restoration - British Virgin Islands
公司恢复注册 — 英属维尔京群岛
In this guide, we explain how a company that was incorporated or registered in the British Virgin Islands (company) can be restored to the BVI register of companies (register). In short, there are two restoration processes: (1) arrange for the company to be administratively restored (administrative restoration); or (2) apply for the company to be restored by a court order (court restoration). There are many reasons why you may need to restore a company, which include needing to regain control of its assets, to commence legal proceedings in the name of the company, or to deal with previously unknown (or forgotten) creditors.
For more information about how a company can be dissolved in the first place, please see our dissolution guide, which details the two dissolution processes: (1) a company can be liquidated and dissolved; or (2) a company can be administratively struck-off and dissolved (administratively dissolved).
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Administration restoration |
Court restoration |
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Who can make a restoration application? |
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A company that has been administratively dissolved after 1 January 2023 can make an application to be administratively restored. The application must be made to the BVI Registrar of Corporate Affairs (registrar) by the company itself or a creditor, member, or liquidator of the company.
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A company that: (1) was administratively dissolved before 1 January 2023; or (2) has been liquidated can make an application to be restored by a court order. The application can be made to the BVI High Court (in the civil or commercial division) by: (1) the attorney general or other competent authority in the BVI; (2) a creditor, a former director, a former member or a former liquidator of the company; (3) a person who but for the company's dissolution would have been in a contractual relationship with the company; (4) a person with a potential legal claim against the company; (5) a manager or trustee of a pension fund established for the benefit of employees of the company; or (6) any person who can show an interest in having the company restored. |
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When does the restoration application need to be made? |
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The restoration application must be made within five years of the company's dissolution date.
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Generally, the restoration application must be made within five years of the company's dissolution date. However, if the company was dissolved before 1 January 2023, the application can be made any time before 1 January 2028 or within 10 years of the company's dissolution date (whichever date is earlier). |
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What are the restoration pre-requisites? |
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A company needs to satisfy all of the following requirements:
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A company needs to satisfy one of the following requirements:
In addition, notice of the restoration application must be served on: (a) the registrar; (b) the financial secretary; and (c) the Financial Services Commission, if the company was ever regulated. |
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How much will the restoration application cost? |
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The registrar will charge $700 to administratively restore a company, if the application is made within 12 months of the company's dissolution date. This fee will increase to $1,600, if the application is made later. The company will also have to pay all outstanding fees and penalties due to the registrar.
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The registrar will charge $2,400 to restore a company by court order, if the application is made within 12 months of the company's dissolution date. This fee will increase to $4,600, if the application is made later. The registrar will formally defend the restoration application and will ordinarily attend the court hearing. This means the applicant will also have to pay registrar’s limited costs for attending court, together with all outstanding fees and penalties due to the registrar. |
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What is the effect of a successful restoration? |
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Once a company has been administratively restored to the register, it is deemed to have continued in existence as if it had never been administratively dissolved. Any of the company's property that vested in the crown bona vacantia will be returned and the company is entitled to be paid out of the BVI’s consolidated fund in respect of: (a) any money received by the crown upon its dissolution; and (b) the value of any property that has been disposed of by the crown (the value being the lesser of an amount equal to the value of the property at the date it vested in the crown or, the amount realised by the crown on the disposition of the property). |
On hearing the application, the court may either: (a) restore the company to the register, subject to such conditions as the court deems appropriate; or (b) give such directions or make such orders as it considers necessary or desirable for the purpose of placing the company and any other person as close as possible to the position they would have been in had the company not been dissolved. Once a company has been restored to the register, it is deemed to have continued in existence as if it had never been dissolved, unless it was dissolved via a voluntary liquidation (see below). In terms of timing, a company will be restored when the court order is filed with the registrar. When a company was dissolved following the completion or termination of a liquidation the court will not fully restore the company to good standing. Instead, the company will be restored “in liquidation”. This means, the court will only restore a company if: (1) the applicant nominates a person to be the company’s liquidator; (2) the liquidator has consented to act and is eligible to act as liquidator of the company; and (3) satisfactory provision has been made or will be made for the expenses and remuneration of the liquidator, if appointed. The liquidation of a company is meant to be 'final', so the court will take into account different considerations when restoring a liquidated company and may impose additional requirements. Once a company is restored, any of its property that vested in the crown bona vacantia will be returned and the company is entitled to be paid out of the BVI’s consolidated fund in respect of: (a) any money received by the crown upon its dissolution; and (b) the value of any property that has been disposed of by the crown (the value being the lesser of an amount equal to the value of the property at the date it vested in the crown or, the amount realised by the crown on the disposition of the property). |
公司恢复注册 — 英属维尔京群岛
在本指南中，我们将详细说明在英属维尔京群岛 （以下简称“BVI”）成立或注册，但在BVI公司登记册（以下简称“登记册”）中被除名的公司（以下简称“公司”）可以如何恢复注册。简单来说，恢复注册的流程有两种：(1) 安排公司进行行政恢复注册（以下简称“行政恢复注册”）；或 (2) 申请法院命令恢复公司注册（以下简称“法院恢复注册”）。您可能出于多种原因需要恢复公司注册，包括需要重新控制其资产、以公司的名义启动诉讼程序，或与先前未知（或被遗忘）的债权人交易。
如需了解有关解散公司的更多信息，请连络我们为您分析两种解散流程：(1) 公司可以在清算后解散；或 (2) 公司可以在行政上被除名并解散（以下简称“行政解散”）。
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行政恢复注册 |
法院恢复注册 |
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哪些公司可以申请恢复注册？ |
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2023 年 1 月 1 日之后行政解散的公司可以申请行政恢复注册。 公司本身或其债权人、成员或清算人必须向 BVI 公司事务注册处（以下简称“注册处”）提交申请。 |
有以下情形的公司：(1) 2023 年 1 月 1 日之前行政解散；或 (2) 已完成清算，都可以申请法院下令恢复注册。 申请可由以下人员提交 BVI 高等法院（民事庭或商事庭）：(1) BVI 检察总长或其他有司法管辖权的权威人员；(2) 公司的债权人、前董事、前成员或前清算人；(3) 如若公司未解散，原与公司存在合同关系之人；(4) 可能对公司提出法律诉求之人；(5) 出于公司员工利益而设立的养老基金的管理人或受托人；或 (6) 任何能够证明享有权益恢复公司注册之人。 |
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申请恢复注册的时效是多久？ |
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恢复注册申请必须在公司解散之日后五年内提交。
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一般而言，恢复注册申请必须在公司解散之日后五年内提交。但如果公司在 2023 年 1 月 1 日之前解散，则可以在 2028 年 1 月 1 日之前或公司解散之日后 10 年内（以较早者为准）随时提交申请。 |
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恢复注册的先决条件有哪些？ |
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公司需要满足以下所有要求：
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公司需要满足以下任一要求：
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恢复注册申请的费用是多少？ |
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如果在公司解散之日后 12 个月内申请行政恢复注册，则注册处将收取 700 美元。如果在此期限结束之后提交申请，费用将增加到 1,600 美元。 公司还必须支付所有应向注册处支付的未付费用及罚款。 |
如果在公司解散之日后 12 个月内申请法院下令恢复公司注册，则注册处将收取 2,400 美元。如果在此期限结束之后提交申请，费用将增加到 4,600 美元。 注册处将正式为恢复注册申请辩护，通常也会出席法院庭审。这意味着申请人还必须为注册处出庭支付有限费用，以及应向注册处支付的所有未付费用及罚款。 |
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成功恢复注册有何效力？ |
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只要公司在行政上恢复注册，其就被视为继续存在，如同其从未行政解散。 政府接管的任何公司无主财产将归还给公司，且公司有权就以下款项获得 BVI 统一基金的偿付：(a) 公司解散后政府接管的任何款项；以及 (b) 政府处置的任何财产的价值（价值以下方较低者为准：该等财产在政府接管财产之日的价值，或政府通过处置该等财产变现的金额）。 |
在对申请进行庭审后，法院可以：(a) 恢复公司注册，但公司必须遵守法院认为适当的条件；或 (b) 在其认为必要或可取的范围内，发出指示或下达命令，使公司和任何其他人尽可能恢复到公司未解散情况下的地位。 只要公司恢复注册，其就被视为继续存在，如同其从未解散，但公司通过自愿清算解散的除外（详见下文）。就恢复注册的时间而言，法院命令提交注册处之时，公司即可恢复注册。 如果公司是在清算完成或终止后解散的，则法院不会将公司完全恢复到有效存续的状态。相反，该等公司将恢复为“在清算中”。这意味着，法院仅在以下情况下恢复公司注册：(1) 申请人指定一人担任公司清算人；(2) 清算人已同意并有资格担任公司清算人；以及 (3) 已为或将为清算人（如已指定）提供令人满意的费用和报酬。 公司的清算具有“终局性”，因此法院在恢复已清算公司的注册时将考虑不同的因素，并可能施加额外的要求。 只要公司恢复注册，政府接管的任何公司无主财产将归还给公司，且公司有权就以下款项获得 BVI 统一基金的偿付：(a) 公司解散后政府接管的任何款项；以及 (b) 政府处置的任何财产的价值（价值以下方较低者为准：该等财产在政府接管财产之日的价值，或政府通过处置该等财产变现的金额）。 |
本文章只是对其所涉事项提供一个总体概述，并不构成法律意见，也不应依靠其作为法律意见。©凯瑞奥信2024
