AMENDMENTS TO THE BVI FINANCIAL REPORTING RULES FOR BUSINESS COMPANIES AND LIMITED PARTNERSHIPS IN FORCE

The BVI Financial Services Commission (FSC) has introduced changes to the financial reporting rules for BVI companies and limited partnerships (LP) to align them with international standards and obligations. This update summarises the key changes introduced by the BVI Business Companies (Financial Return) (Amendment) Order, 2026 and the Limited Partnership (Financial Return) (Amendment) Order, 2026 (each, an Order) which came into effect on 2 November 2026.

Amendments to financial reporting rules

BVI companies and LPs, save for certain exceptions¹, are currently required to file an annual financial return (annual return) with their registered agent within nine months of the end of the company or LP’s calendar year (or, if the company or LP’s financial year is not a calendar year, the company or LP’s financial year).

The annual return does not need to be audited and is not available to the public. If the registered agent does not receive the annual return within 30 days of the due date, it will need to inform the FSC. However, the registered agent is not required to file the annual return with the BVI Registrar of Corporate Affairs or Registrar of Limited Partnerships (as the case may be). The requirement for a company or an LP to comply with its annual return obligations is one of the conditions to maintaining ‘good standing’. Failure to file an annual return could also lead to a penalty fine of up to US$5,000.

Whilst there have been no changes to the above, from 2 November 2026, BVI companies and LPs are now required to report additional information relating to their assets, revenue/income and expenses in their annual returns. LPs are also required to report on partners’ capital, unrealised and realised gain/loss, interest income and expense.

These changes will apply for 2026 annual returns that are filed with registered agents from September 2027 onwards. Therefore BVI companies and LPs should check now that their records capture the reporting information required in the revised form of annual return. The revised form of annual return is set out in each of the Orders.

The FSC has also published related guidance and FAQs. BVI companies and LPs should review the guidance and FAQs and consider whether they need to change their financial recordkeeping and/or related procedures in preparation for the new annual returns.

Below is a short summary of the additional information which BVI companies and LPs are required to report in their annual returns:

Statement of financial position

New reporting obligations include providing details and valuation (in US$) of the following items listed below.

Asset category

Cash and cash equivalents:

• Each type of cash or cash equivalent held
• Where cash/cash equivalent is held in a bank or other institution, provide name and jurisdiction of the bank/institution

Receivables:

For a company: Loans and receivables:

• Related party loans
• Third party loans
• Trade receivables
• Other types of loans and receivables

Itemised reporting is required when total loans and receivables comprise 25% or more of the company’s total assets.

For an LP: Trade and other receivables:

• Trade receivables
• Other receivables

Itemised reporting is required when total trade and other receivables comprise 25% or more of the LP’s total assets.

Investments and other financial assets:

• Shares
• Bonds
• Mutual funds
• Real estate investment trusts (REITs)
• Derivatives
• Virtual assets
• Other

Tangible fixed assets:

• Property (land and buildings)
• Machinery
• Vehicles
• Furniture and fixtures
• Equipment (eg computers, printers, etc)
• Other

Intangible assets:

• Intellectual property (patents, copyrights, trademarks)
• Goodwill
• Software
• Other

Other assets:

Other assets that do not fit in the standard items above.

Capital

For an LP: Partners’ capital:

• General partners’ capital
• Limited partners’ capital

Income statement

New reporting obligations

Income/revenue:

For a company: Revenue:

Categorise the revenue of the company and provide a value for each item (eg gains, sales, revenue, interest income, etc).

For an LP: Income:

Categorise the income of the LP and provide a value for each item.

Expenses:

Categorise the operating expenses of the entity and provide a value for each item (eg equipment, interest expense, sales commissions, cost of goods sold, etc).

For an LP: Gain (loss):

• Unrealised gain/(loss)
• Realised gain/(loss)

For an LP: Interest income and interest expense:

• Interest income
• Interest expense

Other upcoming amendments to the BVI business companies and LP regimes

In addition to the above, there are proposed upcoming amendments to the BVI business companies and LP regimes which are expected, once enacted, to introduce changes that include:

• modifying the conditions for exemption from beneficial ownership information filing requirements;
• requiring entities that will continue out of the BVI, or that will cease to exist via merger or consolidation, to provide records and underlying documentation to their registered agents (in cases where their annual returns have not been filed); and
• exempting, if certain conditions are satisfied, creditors applications to the Court for restoring an entity from the requirement to appoint a registered agent and to update that entity’s records.

Next steps

Please contact a member of our team or any one of our contacts on this page for further information if you have any questions relating to this update or if any assistance is required to ensure compliance with the new legislation.