What a company files in Hong Kong [HK]

Every entry below is the rule as Hong Kong publishes it. It is a reference, not a calendar: where a deadline runs from something only you know, this page says so instead of showing a date.

A template, not your deadline

This is the rule as published by the registry, checked against the primary source on the date shown. It is not your filing date. Where a deadline runs from incorporation, from a fiscal year the company itself elects, or from an event only you know about, no date can be derived here at all — the figure you see is the formula, not the answer. Extensions, transitional regimes and entity-specific exemptions are not reflected. Confirm with the registry before you rely on a date.

How the financial year is set — Derived from another date

A Hong Kong company's financial year ends on its accounting reference date. The directors of a newly incorporated company may specify the primary accounting reference date within eighteen months of incorporation; if they do not, it falls by default on the last day of the month in which the first anniversary of incorporation falls (Companies Ordinance Cap. 622, ss. 368 and 369(5)-(7)). The accounting reference date then recurs on the anniversary of that primary date every year, and the directors may alter it by resolution subject to the restrictions in s. 371. Because the date is set by the company rather than by statute, every deadline counted from the end of the financial year in this record starts from a date the user must supply, and none of them can be shown as a calendar number.

Companies Registry — FAQ, Companies Ordinance: Accounts and Audit. The first accounting reference period «begins on its incorporation date and ends on its primary accounting reference date» (s. 368(2)); the directors specify that primary date within eighteen months of incorporation, failing which it is the last day of the month in which the first anniversary of incorporation falls (s. 369(5)-(7)); the accounting reference date thereafter is the anniversary of the primary accounting reference date (s. 368(3)), alterable by the directors subject to s. 371 · checked 2026-09-08

Annual return (Form NAR1)

Fixed date

Filed to

Companies Registry of Hong Kong

Who it applies to

Only these legal forms — Private company limited by shares

A local private company delivers form NAR1 within 42 days after the anniversary of the date of its incorporation, and the count does not depend on its financial year (Companies Ordinance Cap. 622, s. 662). The other two local forms run on a different clock and are not modelled by this record: a public company's return date is six months after the end of its accounting reference period and a company limited by guarantee's is nine months, with the return due within 42 days after that return date, and both must deliver certified copies of the financial statements, directors' report and auditor's report with the return. A private company does not file its financial statements with the Registry at all.

Deadline

Counted from an event, not from the calendar.

If missed

Late delivery costs a higher registration fee on a rising scale: HK$870 if delivered more than 42 days but within 3 months after the return date, HK$1,740 within 6 months, HK$2,610 within 9 months and HK$3,480 thereafter. Separately, «the company and every responsible person of the company are liable to prosecution and, if convicted, default fines. The maximum penalty is HK$50,000 for each breach and, in the case of a continuing offence, a daily default fine of HK$1,000.» The higher registration fee is not a single flat sum, so only the prosecution figures are carried in the numeric fields.

State fee

HK$105

HK$105 is the annual registration fee for a local private company's annual return delivered within the 42-day period. The higher fees for late delivery are set out in the penalty field, not here.

Proof of filing

The filed form NAR1 for the year and the Companies Registry's receipt or electronic acknowledgement of delivery.

Primary source: Companies Registry — Compliance, Annual Return, Local Private Company: form NAR1 must be delivered «within 42 days after the anniversary of the date of the company's incorporation in that year» (Companies Ordinance Cap. 622, s. 662); annual registration fee HK$105 within the period; higher registration fees HK$870 / HK$1,740 / HK$2,610 / HK$3,480 by band of delay; prosecution with a maximum penalty of HK$50,000 for each breach and a daily default fine of HK$1,000 for a continuing offence. Return dates of public and guarantee companies from Companies Registry — Annual Returns of Local Companies (cr.gov.hk/en/legislation/companies-ordinance/cap622/keychanges/ar-local.htm)
checked 2026-09-08 · Rechecked every 12 months

Business registration certificate renewal

Formula, not a date

Filed to

Inland Revenue Department, Business Registration Office

Who it applies to

Every entity in the jurisdiction

Every company carrying on business in Hong Kong must hold a valid business registration certificate, and the certificate must be renewed before it expires. The business operator chooses a one-year or a three-year certificate, so the renewal does not necessarily recur every year: the three-year election is made or withdrawn by written notice to the Commissioner not later than one month before the current certificate expires (forms IRBR 184 and IRBR 199). The Business Registration Office sends a renewal demand note «approximately in the middle of the month preceding the commencement month of the renewal Business Registration Certificate»; if no demand note arrives, the business operator must notify the office within one month of expiry. Because the expiry date printed on the certificate — and the one- or three-year cycle — are known only to the company, the deadline in this record is counted from a date the user must supply.

Deadline

Counted from an event, not from the calendar.

No date can be derived here. This deadline runs from something this page does not know — the financial year the company itself elects, or an event only you can date. What is published is the rule, not the day.

If missed

The Inland Revenue Department's business registration notice states a maximum penalty for failure to comply with the Business Registration Ordinance (Cap. 310) of «a fine of $5,000 and imprisonment for 1 year», and notes that penalties may be imposed where renewal demand notes are overdue. The figure is a statutory maximum rather than a fixed sum, so it is carried in the cap field and the flat field is left empty.

State fee

HK$2,350 — HK$6,170

For a business registration certificate commencing between 1 April 2026 and 31 March 2027 the department's fee and levy table gives HK$2,200 fee plus HK$150 levy, HK$2,350 in all, for a one-year certificate, and HK$5,720 plus HK$450, HK$6,170 in all, for a three-year certificate. A branch registration certificate is charged separately at HK$230 for one year and HK$658 for three years. These amounts are reset in the annual budget.

Proof of filing

The receipted renewal demand note, which itself becomes the valid business registration certificate on payment, showing the certificate number and the new period of validity.

Primary source: Inland Revenue Department — Business Registration Fee and Levy Table, period 01.04.2026 to 31.03.2027: business registration certificate, one year, fee $2,200 and levy $150, total $2,350; three years, fee $5,720 and levy $450, total $6,170; branch registration certificate $230 and $658. Renewal mechanics from IRD — Renewal of Business Registration (ird.gov.hk/eng/tax/bre_rbr.htm): the demand note is sent «approximately in the middle of the month preceding the commencement month of the renewal Business Registration Certificate». One- and three-year election from IRD — Business Registration Certificate for 3 years (ird.gov.hk/eng/tax/bre_brc.htm), forms IRBR 184 and IRBR 199, notice «not later than 1 month before the expiry». Maximum penalty «a fine of $5,000 and imprisonment for 1 year» from the IRD business registration notice (ird.gov.hk/eng/pdf/br_202001_e.pdf)
checked 2026-09-08 · Rechecked every 12 months

Profits tax return (BIR51)

Formula, not a date

Filed to

Inland Revenue Department

Who it applies to

Every entity in the jurisdiction

A corporation files the return the Inland Revenue Department issues to it, by the date printed on that return, whether or not it made a profit. The department's bulk issue of the 2025/26 returns to corporations and partnership businesses whose files are in the «active» category took place on 1 April 2026, and for those with no block extension the due date on that issue was 4 May 2026 — about one month later. Supporting documents go in with the return: a corporation with any gross income during the basis period must submit its certified financial statements, the auditor's report where one is required, and the tax computation with supporting schedules. Audited financial statements are not required from a dormant company under Cap. 622, from a company whose place of incorporation does not require an audit, or from a Hong Kong branch of a foreign company, which supplies incorporation and audit details instead.

Deadline

Counted from an event, not from the calendar.

Extensions and exceptions: A taxpayer represented by a tax representative falls under the Block Extension Scheme, which shifts the due date by the accounting date code. For the 2025/26 returns issued on 1 April 2026: code «N», accounting date 1 April to 30 November 2025, no extension, due 4 May 2026; code «D», 1 to 31 December 2025, due 17 August 2026; code «M», 1 January to 31 March 2026, due 16 November 2026, and a code «M» case sustaining an allowable loss may go to 1 February 2027 on an application received no later than 2 November 2026. These dates are set anew each year.

If missed

Failure to furnish a return in time is an offence under section 80(2) of the Inland Revenue Ordinance, carrying «a fine of $10,000 and a further fine of treble the amount of the tax undercharged», and the court may order the return to be furnished within a specified time. In place of prosecution the Commissioner may assess additional tax under section 82A up to treble the tax undercharged; the department's stated practice for profits tax late-filing cases without a field audit is 10 to 50 per cent of the tax undercharged, higher for a repeat offence within five years. Only the fixed HK$10,000 element is carried in the numeric fields, since the rest is a multiple of an amount the record cannot know.

Proof of filing

The filed BIR51 with the department's acknowledgement, together with the certified financial statements, the auditor's report where required and the tax computation submitted with it.

Primary source: Inland Revenue Department — Circular Letter to Tax Representatives, Block Extension Scheme for lodgement of 2025/26 profits tax returns: «The bulk issue of 2025/26 Profits Tax Returns to corporations and partnership businesses, the files of which fall within the "active" category in the Department, will take place on 1 April 2026»; code N (1 Apr – 30 Nov 2025) no extension, due 4 May 2026; code D (1 – 31 Dec 2025) 17 August 2026; code M (1 Jan – 31 Mar 2026) 16 November 2026; M loss cases 1 February 2027 on application received no later than 2 November 2026. Supporting-document rule from IRD — Completion of Profits Tax Returns and Supplementary Forms (ird.gov.hk/eng/tax/bus_cpt.htm). Penalties from IRD — Penalty Policy (ird.gov.hk/eng/pol/ppo.htm), s. 80(2) «a fine of $10,000 and a further fine of treble the amount of the tax undercharged» and s. 82A additional tax up to treble the tax undercharged
checked 2026-09-08 · Rechecked every 12 months

Notification of chargeability to profits tax

Formula, not a date

Filed to

Inland Revenue Department, Commissioner of Inland Revenue

Who it applies to

Every entity in the jurisdiction

This falls on a person chargeable to profits tax for a year of assessment who has not been issued a return for that year — typically a newly formed company that has begun to earn assessable profits before the department has put it on the return cycle. The duty is discharged by informing the Commissioner in writing; a business with assessable profits must notify even where losses are carried forward from earlier years. A person who has already received a return for the year has nothing further to do under this head.

Deadline

Day null of month 4 after the end of the financial year.

If missed

Failure to notify chargeability may be prosecuted under section 80(2) of the Inland Revenue Ordinance, «a fine of $10,000 and a further fine of treble the amount of the tax undercharged», or met with additional tax under section 82A of up to treble the tax undercharged. Only the fixed HK$10,000 element is carried in the numeric fields.

Proof of filing

The written notification sent to the Commissioner of Inland Revenue and proof of its despatch, or the profits tax return subsequently issued in response to it.

Primary source: Inland Revenue Department — Notification of chargeability: a person chargeable to tax who has not received a return must inform the Commissioner «not later than 4 months after the end of the basis period for that year of assessment» (Inland Revenue Ordinance s. 51(2)); failure may lead to prosecution under s. 80(2) or additional tax under s. 82A. Penalty amounts from IRD — Penalty Policy (ird.gov.hk/eng/pol/ppo.htm)
checked 2026-09-08 · Rechecked every 24 months

Audited financial statements laid before the annual general meeting

Formula, not a date

Filed to

The members of the company — a private company does not file its financial statements with the Companies Registry

Who it applies to

Only these legal forms — Private company limited by shares, Company limited by guarantee

Every company formed under Cap. 622 must have its financial statements audited: there is no size threshold, and only a dormant company under section 447 is excused. A small private company meeting two of the three conditions in Schedule 3 — revenue not exceeding HK$100 million, assets not exceeding HK$100 million, employees not exceeding 100 — may take the reporting exemption and prepare simplified financial and directors' reports, but the audit itself is still required. The nine-month deadline in this record is the deadline for holding the annual general meeting under section 610, which applies to a private company and to a company limited by guarantee; for any other company, meaning a public company, the period is six months after the end of the accounting reference period. A private company may dispense with the annual general meeting: a single-member company is exempt under section 612(2)(a), and any private company may pass a resolution under section 613, registered with the Registrar within 15 days.

Deadline

Day null of month 9 after the end of the financial year.

If missed

The Companies Registry pages consulted for this record state the audit and meeting requirements but give no figure for the fine on a breach of section 610, so the numeric fields are left empty rather than filled from memory. What is documented is the separate consequence of not delivering the annual return: a maximum penalty of HK$50,000 for each breach with a daily default fine of HK$1,000, carried in the annual return record.

Proof of filing

The auditor's report on the financial statements for the financial year, signed and dated, together with the minutes of the annual general meeting at which the reporting documents were laid or the written resolution that replaced it.

Primary source: Companies Registry — FAQ, Companies Ordinance: Meetings, Resolutions and Company Records. Section 610 requires the annual general meeting to be held within «9 months after the end of its accounting reference period» for a private company and a company limited by guarantee, and «6 months» for any other company; a single-member company is exempt under s. 612(2)(a) and a private company may dispense with the meeting by resolution under s. 613, registered within 15 days. Audit requirement and reporting exemption from Companies Registry — Companies Ordinance (Cap. 622), Accounts and Audit (cr.gov.hk/en/legislation/companies-ordinance/cap622/keychanges/account-audit.htm): «audit of the financial statements is still required for all companies, except dormant companies», with the reporting-exemption criteria of revenue and assets not exceeding HK$100 million and not more than 100 employees
checked 2026-09-08 · Rechecked every 24 months

Significant controllers register (SCR)

Formula, not a date

Filed to

Kept by the company itself at its registered office or another place in Hong Kong and produced to a law enforcement officer on demand — it is not filed with the Companies Registry

Who it applies to

Every entity in the jurisdiction

The duty falls on all companies formed and registered under the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 622), including re-domiciled companies; a listed company is excluded. The register may be kept at the registered office or at another place in Hong Kong, and if it is kept elsewhere form NR2 must be filed within 15 days. The company must also designate at least one representative to assist a law enforcement officer in relation to the register — a shareholder, a director, an employee resident in Hong Kong, or an accounting, legal or licensed trust and company service provider. This is a keeping-and-updating duty rather than a periodic filing: it has no annual date, and the deadline below runs from a change the company alone knows about.

Deadline

Counted from an event, not from the calendar.

If missed

A company that fails to comply, and every responsible person of it, commits an offence punishable by a «fine at level 4 (i.e. $25,000)», with «a further daily fine of $700» where the offence continues.

Proof of filing

The significant controllers register itself, showing the date each required particular was entered, together with the record of the designated representative and, where the register is kept away from the registered office, the filed form NR2.

Primary source: Companies Registry — pamphlet PAM 35E (May 2025), Keeping of Significant Controllers Registers by Companies: the duty applies to all companies formed and registered under Cap. 622 other than listed companies; particulars of a registrable person are entered «within 7 days after the required particulars have all been confirmed» and those of a registrable legal entity «within 7 days after each particular comes to the notice of the company»; the register is kept at the registered office or another place in Hong Kong with form NR2 filed within 15 days if elsewhere; at least one designated representative must be appointed; non-compliance is a «fine at level 4 (i.e. $25,000)» with «a further daily fine of $700». Scope including re-domiciled companies from Companies Registry — Significant Controllers Register, Overview (cr.gov.hk/en/legislation/scr/overview.htm)
checked 2026-09-08 · Rechecked every 24 months

← All jurisdictions