The Office of the Registrar of Companies released an industry notice on 20 March 2020.

The notice states that the Registrar will take all appropriate circumstances into account in assessing compliance with the Economic Substance Act 2018 (as amended) (the "Act"), the Economic Substance Regulations 2018 (as amended) (the "Regulations") and the principles set out in the applicable Economic Substance Guidance Notes (as amended) (the "Guidance") (hereinafter the Act, the Regulations and the Guidance Notes, collectively referred to the "ES Legislation").

As Bermuda responds to the effect of COVID-19, the Registrar acknowledges that business continuity is challenging and as such, where meetings or other similar compliance measures are not possible due to necessary travel or quarantine restrictions, this may be taken into account. The Registrar did advise that, as with all information evidencing compliance, entities should keep careful records of all such circumstance and should continue in good faith to ensure that ongoing compliance with the economic substance requirements as set out in the ES Legislation.