Local companies have three weeks left to take advantage of the waiver period offered by the Cayman Islands Registrar of Companies, whereby the late filing of changes to directors and officers of companies will not result in penalty fees.

The waiver period commenced on Tuesday, 1 September 2015, and ends at 5pm on Friday, 30 October 2015. The Registrar will not impose any penalty fees for the late reporting of director and officer changes filed with the Registrar during the waiver period, regardless of when the changes being submitted were made, and how many late changes are submitted. In addition, penalty notices that have been issued prior to the start of the waiver period, but have not been paid, will be cancelled.

The waiver period is being done in preparation for the commencement of The Companies (Amendment) Law 2015 on Monday, 2 November. The law, which was passed in the Legislative Assembly on 12 August, requires companies to notify the Registrar of changes in the information contained in the register of directors and officers, within 60 days of the change.

It also establishes a CI$500 maximum penalty per company for a breach of that obligation, and an aggregate penalty of CI$2,500 where the same breach occurs in respect of five or more companies.

After the waiver period ends, the amendment law will be strictly enforced by the Registrar. Penalty fees shall be imposed in accordance with the amendment law, including against companies where changes in directors and officers occurred during the waiver period but are filed in a late fashion with the Registrar, post the waiver period.

For more information, interested persons can call 946-7922 or email cigenreg@gov.ky.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.