In light of the COVID-19 pandemic and its implications on business continuity in the financial services industry, the Cayman Islands Government has announced measures to support businesses with upcoming annual filing and reporting obligations.

Measures

  • The Registrar of Companies (ROC) has extended the deadline for entities to complete their annual returns to 30 June 2020. This applies to all companies, including limited liability companies and foundation companies. There are no penalty fees associated with the extensions for filing annual returns. Penalties for failure to file will come into force on 1 July.
  • The Registrar of Exempted Limited Partnerships (ROELP) has extended the deadline for partnerships to complete their annual returns to 30 June 2020. There are no penalty fees associated with the extensions for filing annual returns. Penalties for failure to file will come into force on 1 July.
  • The Economic Substance Notification (ESN) filing is now also due on or before 30 June 2020. The ESN submission is still a prerequisite for entities to successfully submit their annual returns.
  • The Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA) has extended the deadline for regulatory filings for some regulatory returns with due dates up until 30 June. You can find a list of regulatory filings eligible for extension here.
  • CIMA will accept uncertified resolutions that confirm the de-registration or cancellation date of a fund.
  • The government is considering other measures to assist the financial services industry and has advised that the ROC will accept affidavits or other documents that have been notarised or certified online or utilise audio-video technology during this time.
  • In lieu of a notarised affidavit, CIMA will accept written confirmation from an operator of a fund applying to be registered or licensed pursuant to the Mutual Funds Law of Private Funds Law, authorising the registered office or other service provider to file the fund's application on behalf of the operator.
  • The DITC have extended the CRS and US FATCA annual reporting deadline for financial institutions up until 31 July 2020, without penalty, including late filing fees or compliance measures. Subsequent reporting years will also adopt this deadline. The DITC is currently developing a new portal for all registrations, notifications and reporting which will be available from June 2020 to enable financial institutions to complete their reporting obligations. As a result, the deadline for 2019 FATCA and CRS reporting has been extended to 18 September, 2020.
  • The General Registry previously gave the extension for beneficial ownership submissions. Effective Monday 23 March and will cease on 20 April.

A proactive response

The decision to extend filing deadlines is hoped to reduce some of the administrative challenges currently being experienced as a result of the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic, demonstrating the Cayman Islands Government's proactivity in trying to find solutions during the current period of uncertainty.

Despite the extensions, we encourage our clients to liaise with our Cayman office to complete all required filings in a timely manner to avoid any penalties associated with late filing.

Questions about your entity?

If you have any questions about the new measures, or would like to discuss how we could support your entity and help you meet your filing obligations, please get in touch with your usual Ocorian contact or one of our team listed below. Please note that our physical offices are closed but we are operating as normal and service to clients remains unaffected.

You can find further information about the announcements here and here.

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.