GSL / Offshore and International Law. Offshore companies registration. / Offshore zones / North & South America / Antigua / Legislation of Antigua

Legislation of Antigua

Service packages Legislation Tax System Audit Services

List of laws and regulations

Act name
Scope of law
International Business Corporation Act
IBC
Companies Act, 1995
Companies
Business Registration
Registration
Business Names Act
Company name
Business Licence Act
Licensing
Banking Act
Banking
Money Laundering (Prevention) Act
Money laundering prevention
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Tax treaties entered

Barbados
Belize
Dominica
Grenada
Guyana
Jamaica
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Sweden
Switzerland
Trinidad and Tobago

Tax Exchange Information Agreement (TIEA)

Australia
Belgium
Denmark
Faroe Islands
Finland
France
Greenland
Iceland
Ireland
Liechtenstein
Netherlands
Netherlands Antilles
Norway
Portugal
Sweden
United Kingdom
United States
Aruba

List of state regulatory authorities

Financial Services Regulatory Authority
https://www.fsrc.gov.ag/
Government Information and Services
https://ab.gov.ag/
Ministry of Finance, Corporate Governance & Public Private Partnerships
https://ab.gov.ag/detail_page.php?page=13
Ministry of Justice and Legal Affairs
https://legalaffairs.gov.ag/
Inland Revenue Department
https://ird.gov.ag/
Antigua and Barbuda Investment Authority
https://investantiguabarbuda.org/
Office of National Drug and Money Laundering Control Policy
https://ondcp.gov.ag/
Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court
https://www.eccourts.org/
Eastern Caribbean Central Bank
http://www.eccb-centralbank.org
Citizenship by Investment Unit
https://cip.gov.ag/

Corporate info

Legal system
Based upon English Common Law
Types of entity
International Business Corporation (IBC), International Limited Liability Company (ILLC), Limited Liability Company (LLC), non-profit company (without share capital)
Shelf companies permitted
No
Incorporation timescale for a new company
2 days
Company suffix
Limited, Corporation, Incorporated, Society Anonyme, Sociedad Anonima or Aktiengesellschaft, or their abbreviations: Ltd., Corp., Inc., S.A., AG
Sensitive words
Asset Management / Manager, Assurance, Bank / Banking, Broker / Brokerage, Capital, Credit, Currency, Custodian / Custody, Dealer / Dealing, Deposit, Derivative, Exchange, Fiduciary, Finance / Financial, Fund, Future, Insurance, Lending / Loan / Lender, Option, Pension, Portfolio, Reserves, Savings, Security, Stock, Trust / Trustee
Cyrillic alphabet permitted in company name
No
Local registered office
Yes
Local registered agent
Yes
Information to be kept at the registered office
Copies of the Articles of Association, Memorandum of Association, Certificate of Incorporation, the company’s Register of Directors
Seal required, type of seal
Not required
Redomiciliation (to, from) permitted
Permitted

Director and secretary

Minimum number of directors
1
Residency requirements for directors
No
Corporate directors permitted
Yes
Directors’ meetings/frequency/location
Yes / annually / no requirements
Disclosure to local agent
Yes
Disclosure to public
Yes
Company secretary required
Yes
Residency requirements for a secretary
No
Qualified secretary required
No
Corporate secretary permitted
Yes

Shareholder and beneficiary

Minimum number of shareholders
1 shareholder +2 founders (residents)
Residency requirements for shareholders
No
Corporate shareholder permitted
Yes
Meetings/frequency/location
Yes / annually / no requirements
Disclosure to local agent
Yes
Disclosure to public
No
Beneficiary info disclosure to
No

Shares and share capital

Minimum authorized share capital
No requirements
Minimum issued share capital
No requirements
Minimum paid share capital
No requirements
Authorized capital payment deadlines
No requirements
Issued capital payment deadlines
No requirements
Standard currency
USD
Standard authorized share capital
10 000
Standard par value of shares
1
Shares with no par value permitted
Yes
Bearer shares permitted
Yes

Taxes

Personal tax
0%
Сorporate tax
25%
Corporate tax (in detail)
The income tax rate is 25%
Capital gains tax
No
Capital gains tax. Details
No
VAT
15%
VAT. Details
Sales tax is similar to VAT. The basic tax rate is 15%
Withholding tax
25% (dividend), 25% (interest), 25% (royalty)
Other taxes
Social contributions, Property taxes
Exchange control
No
Government fee
—
Stamp duty
Yes

Accounts

Requirement to prepare accounts
No
Requirement to file accounts
No
Publicly accessible accounts
No
Requirement to file Annual Return
No
Publicly accessible Annual Return
No
Audit required
No

General information shortly

Location
Islands in the north-east of the Caribbean Sea, to the east-southeast of Puerto Rico
Total area
442,6 sq.km
Population
97 000 (2019)
Capital
Saint John's
National currency
East Caribbean dollar
Conditional reduction of currency
ECD
Against USD
0,37 (2024)
Climate, average max and min t°
Tropical maritime with little seasonal temperature variation and low humidity; min. average 25 °C and max. average 28 °C
Time difference from Moscow
- 7 hours
Dialing code
+1-268
State language
English
Ethnic groups
Almost entirely of African origin, some of American, British, Portuguese, Syrian, and Lebanese ones: black 91%, mixed 4.4%, white 1.7%, other 2.9%
Literacy rate
99%
History
For Europeans Antigua was discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1493 and named by him Antigua after the Santa Maria La Antigua church in Seville, Spain. The Spanish were the first to settle but they were soon to be displaced by the British. In 1674 the first large sugar estate was set up by Sir Christopher Codrington in Antigua. Slaves from African west coast were brought to work the plantation. Slavery was abolished on the islands in 1834. The state gained its independence on November 1, 1981 as an independent state within the British Commonwealth; Britain’s Queen is the titular Head of Antigua and Barbuda.
Credit rating
Government type
Constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of government
Executive branch
Council of Ministers under the leadership of the Prime Minister appointed by the Governor General on the advice of the Prime Minister
Legislative branch
Bicameral Parliament: Senate (17-member body appointed by the Governor General mainly on the advice of the Prime Minister) and House of Representatives (17 seats; members are elected by proportional representation to serve five-year terms)
Judicial branch
Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based in Saint Lucia); magistrate’s courts
Unemployment
11% (2014)
GDP per capita rank
68 (2019)
Corruption perceptions index rank
—
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