Samoa
Introduction
Samoa, which comprises of two large islands and several smaller isles is situated in the centre of the Southern Pacific Ocean, approximately equidistant between Honolulu and Sydney and immediately East of the International Date Line. Samoa has been a fully independent nation since 1962 and its constitution provides for a parliamentary Government which combines the traditional Samoan social structure and a democratic voting system.
The legal system of Samoa is based on English common law and incorporates a considerable body of New Zealand statute law due to the fact that prior to independence New Zealand was the administrating authority of Samoa. Population is approximately 162,000 of whom 90% are indigenous Polynesians. The balance of the population is of part Samoan and part Chinese or European extraction.
Samoa has sophisticated international telecommunications system with telex, facsimile and international direct facilities via satellite. There are regular international flights to and from Australia, New Zealand and the surrounding Pacific Islands.
Characteristics of Belzie IBC
Taxation
ICs pay no taxes in Samoa.
Shareholders
Normally a minimum of one shareholder is required and shares must be issued in registered form but details do not appear on the public register. Bearer shares are not permitted.
Directors
A minimum of one director is required and corporate directors are permitted. Details do not appear on the public file.
Annual Reporting
A brief annual return must be filed but no accounts need to be filed. It should be noted that penalty fees will be incurred if the licence fee is not paid when due.
Timescale
Incorporation can be achieved within 24 hours. However it does take approximately 1 week for documents to arrive from Samoa. We do not keep ready-made companies in stock available for immediate purchase.
Restrictions on Name and Activity
Names must end with one of the following words, or abbreviations thereof - Limited, Corporation, Incorporated, Societe Anonyme or Sociedad Anonima. The following words, and their associated activities, cannot be used: Assurance, Bank, Building Society, Chamber of Commerce, Chartered, Cooperative, Imperial, Insurance, Municipal and Royal.
Local Requirements
As a matter of local company law the company MUST maintain a registered office address within Samoa and must also appoint a Samoan resident secretary and registered agent. We would generally provide these services as part of the domiciliary service fee.
Registration and Maintenance Fees
Registration Fee
Our registration fee for a comapny with a share capital less than US$50,000 is US$928. The fee covers first year licence fee, first year registered agent fee and first year registered office fee.
Annual Maintenance Fee
Annual maintenance costs for second year onward is US$650 which covers annual licence fee, annual registered agent fee and annual registered office fee. |
