According to Hong Kong law, every limited company must have a company secretary. The company secretary can be a natural person (i.e. a Hong Kong resident) or a legal person (i.e. a Hong Kong limited company).
If the company has only one director, the director cannot be the secretary.
The company secretary is the bridge between the government and the company, and needs to handle company's government-related documents, such as filing annual reports. Although the company secretary has no direct control or ownership of the company, the company secretary will be held liable if the company violates any company rules.
Each company must designate at least one person to act as a company representative to assist law enforcement officers in matters relating to the company's Significant Controllers Register.
The designated representative of the company must be any of the following: a shareholder, director or employee of the company and must be a natural person resident in Hong Kong; or an accounting professional, legal professional or a trust or company services license holder.
The Government has made amendments to the Companies Ordinance to require companies incorporated in Hong Kong to identify persons who have significant control over them (“significant controllers”) and to maintain a significant controller register for law enforcement officers upon request. At the same time, each company is required to designate a person to act as a company representative to assist law enforcement officers in matters relating to the Significant Controllers Register.
Most Hong Kong companies usually end their year on 31 March or 31 December each year, but other months can be chosen as the year end date. The maximum base period for first year taxation is 18 months (i.e. not more than 18 months from the date of incorporation of the company). Since the government's fiscal year is March 31, and the individual tax period is April 1 to March 31, many Hong Kong companies choose March 31 than December 31.
Enterprises generally consider the following reasons when determining the base period for evaluation:
(1) Cooperation with investors, other groups or suppliers;
(2) Avoid business peak periods and tax overlap;
(3) Choose a different base period for better tax arrangements and space
Customers need to provide the following documents and information:
(1) Clients are required to provide copies of company registration documents (including recent business registration certificate and annual return, company registration certificate and memorandum of association); (2) Daily business records (including bank statements, all sales or revenue invoices issued, Purchase invoices, general expense receipts, year-end inventory statements, employee payroll records, asset lists and contracts to purchase related assets, and copies of any related assets (business related contracts, etc.);
(3) Financial documents of the previous year (if it is not the first year of operation) (including the financial report of the previous year issued and signed by an accountant, copies of tax returns and tax calculation forms submitted, management accounts) and details, etc.).
Financial statements can be divided into financial statements and financial statements audited by certified public accountants. Financial statements are complete documents that reflect a company's financial performance as of the filing date, including a balance sheet, income statement, cash flow statement, statement of changes in owner's equity (or statement of changes in shareholders' equity), and notes to the financial statements, etc.
Audited financial statements include financial statements audited by an auditor who will provide a comprehensive professional opinion on the financial and governance position in the report and an independent review report. When filing corporate profits tax returns, it is generally necessary to submit the audited financial statements together with the profits tax return for the year to the Inland Revenue Department.
The company will receive the first Profits Tax Return issued by the Inland Revenue Department within one to two months after the date of incorporation in Hong Kong, and submit the audit report and the signed and completed Profits Tax Return to the Inland Revenue Department.
From the second tax return, if you do not apply for an extension based on the company's year-end date, you need to submit it within 1 month after the tax return is issued. General accounting and auditing work takes about a few months. There are thousands of dollars in fines for late filing of audit reports and tax returns; the most severe fine is three times the amount of tax due.
According to the Hong Kong Companies Ordinance, accounting and auditing work is required for every Hong Kong limited company, except for "dormant companies".
In addition, if the Inland Revenue Department has not issued a Profits Tax Return to the company, the company must submit it to the Inland Revenue Department together with the financial statements audited by a certified public accountant. If there is taxable profit in the current year, even if the tax department has not issued a profits tax return, the company is still obliged to report to the tax department actively, otherwise it may be investigated and fined.
In addition, if accounting and auditing work is not processed on an annual basis, it will result in a large backlog of accounting work, which takes longer to process than annual accounting. The turnover of personnel may result in the loss of accounting records and information, resulting in incomplete completion of accounts or a failure to truly reflect the financial position of the company. Therefore, we strongly recommend that companies conduct accounting and auditing work on an annual basis.
Failure to complete accounting and auditing reports on time will result in failure to file a profits tax return, which can have serious consequences. Failure to file a Profits Tax Return on time without reasonable excuse may result in the following penalties:
(1) The Inland Revenue Department will issue a penalty notice with a maximum fine of several thousand dollars; a maximum fine of 10,000 yuan and a fine of three times the tax payable.
(2) The Inland Revenue Department may also issue a court summons to the company. Courts generally order companies to file tax returns within a specified time period and pay court-imposed fines.
If the company has taxable profits, the Inland Revenue Department can also issue an "Estimated Tax" based on the company's previous tax returns to estimate the amount of profits tax payable. If you disagree with the estimated tax, you must also object in writing within one month of the date of the assessment notice, which must be filed with the signed and completed tax return and audited financial statements. Otherwise, the estimated assessment may be final even if the tax return is not paid and the tax is not paid.
Therefore, entrust relevant professional companies to arrange accounting and auditing work for you, assist you to fill in the tax return correctly, save all the trouble, and submit it to the tax bureau on time.
For failure to pay tax by the tax date, the Inland Revenue Department will take the following statutory measures, such as fines or prosecution, in accordance with the provisions of the Inland Revenue Ordinance.
(1) If the first instalment is not paid on time, the Inland Revenue Department will impose a 5% surcharge on the overdue tax (together with the second instalment) and the second instalment will be deemed to be due immediately. If more than 6 months past due, an additional 10% unpaid tax will be charged.
(2) The Inland Revenue Department may also issue tax recovery notices to third parties, including the taxpayer's employer, banks, etc., and initiate civil proceedings in the District Court.
(3) In serious cases, the Inland Revenue Department will impose a fine in the form of additional tax in accordance with Section 82A of the Inland Revenue Ordinance, depending on the duration of the violation and other circumstances.
Therefore, companies are required to prepare audit work on time each year, file profits tax returns on time, and avoid all delay penalties. Even if the Inland Revenue Department has not issued a Profits Tax Return, if a company is required to pay tax in the current year, it must still report to the Inland Revenue Department on its own initiative.
1) Have a flexible option;
2) Save business start-up cost;
3) Fix operating cost;
4) Create a positive corporate image.
Startuppers
Start-ups always face a series of cost expenditures at the beginning of their business, and rents account for a large portion of them. Service office can reduce the cost of these startups.
Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs)
Most of the rented offices in prime commercial areas are with large scale, and enterprises may need to rent them on the whole floor, the rents of these are relatively expensive, which may not be suitable for SMEs.
Multinational companies that open up local markets
For companies that are exploring the local market, Serviced Office can provide you with the best solution for the office with fully equipment and high flexibility in a short period of time.
Temporary/short-term rental office
When you need to relocate or expand your office, Serviced Office can solve the need to temporarily rent an office and minimize the influences of your business during the transition period.
Start-ups always face a series of cost expenditures at the beginning of their business, and rents account for a large portion of them. Service office can reduce the cost of these startups.
Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs)
Most of the rented offices in prime commercial areas are with large scale, and enterprises may need to rent them on the whole floor, the rents of these are relatively expensive, which may not be suitable for SMEs.
Multinational companies that open up local markets
For companies that are exploring the local market, Serviced Office can provide you with the best solution for the office with fully equipment and high flexibility in a short period of time.
Temporary/short-term rental office
When you need to relocate or expand your office, Serviced Office can solve the need to temporarily rent an office and minimize the influences of your business during the transition period.
It is legal to use a virtual office as a registered office address. According to the Anti-Money Laundering Ordinance, a licensee must hold a Corporate Service Provider Licence to provide services in a business centre in Hong Kong, otherwise it is an offence. Therefore, the address of a commercial leasing company provided by a virtual office complies with the legal requirements.
If the trademark has been successfully registered in Hong Kong, you can add ® to the trademark.
If you have not registered your trademark and have used ®, it is an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine.
Where a trademark is registered, the registration is valid for 10 years from the date of registration.