What a company files in Cayman Islands [KY]

Every company on the register, from the first January after registration: «Annual fees and returns are due in January of each year commencing the first January after registration.» What is declared differs by category. A director of an exempted company declares that «there has been no alteration in the memorandum of association, other than an alteration in the name of the company effected in accordance with section 31 or an alteration already reported in accordance with section 10», states «The nature of business of the exempted company», declares that «the operations of the exempted company [since the last return] /[since registration] have been mainly outside the Islands», and that «Section 174 has been and is being complied with». A resident company instead «must also report annually to the Registrar, giving the names and addresses of members, directors» and the paid-up capital. Neither category files accounts: the return is a declaration, not a financial statement.

Extensions and exceptions: There is no extension, but two dates must be kept apart, and the operative one is not a calendar number. The obligation falls in January: the Registrar's fee notice records the exempted company fee as «payable in January of each year after the year of its registration». The Registry's own cut-off is later: «The deadline for annual fees and returns is the last business day of March before 5PM», and «Filings made after 5PM are deemed submitted on the next business day.» The penalty scale begins on 1 April. The day shown here is the end of March, marked indicative because the last business day of March is not always the 31st: in a year when 31 March falls on a Saturday or Sunday the real cut-off is earlier.

The annual fee of an exempted company is banded by registered capital. The Registrar's notice «NOTICE ANNUAL FEE INCREASES EFFECTIVE 1 JANUARY 2025» sets, under section 169(1): «an exempted company with no registered capital, or a registered capital not exceeding $42,000» — 925.00; «an exempted company with a registered capital exceeding $42,000 but not exceeding $820,000» — 1,225.00; «an exempted company with a registered capital exceeding $820,000 but not exceeding $1,640,000» — 2,209.00; «an exempted company with a registered capital exceeding $1,640,000» — 2,793.00. Other categories pay their own fees: a non-resident company 900.00 or 1,140.00, and a limited liability company 1,100.00 under section 57(1) of the Limited Liability Companies Act (2023 Revision). The notice prints the amounts with a bare dollar sign and does not name the currency; the Registry's fee tables place a «Fee (CI)» column beside a «FEE (US @.82)» column, so the figures are read here as Cayman Islands dollars.

Every entity, whether or not it carries on a relevant activity: the notification is how the Authority learns which case it is dealing with. Section 7(1) of the International Tax Co-operation (Economic Substance) Act (2026 Revision): «An entity shall annually notify the Authority of the following — (a) whether or not it is carrying on a relevant activity; (b) if it is carrying on a relevant activity, whether or not it is a relevant entity», and, for an entity carrying on a relevant activity but tax resident outside the Islands, «the name and address of its immediate parent, ultimate parent and ultimate beneficial owner», «the date of the end of its financial year» and «the jurisdiction in which the entity is claiming to be tax resident». For a relevant entity carrying on a relevant activity the notification adds «the date of the end of its financial year» and «the name and address of the officer who is responsible for providing information to the Authority». The Authority confirms the breadth of the duty: «Is the ESN an annual requirement? Yes.»

Extensions and exceptions: No extension is published, and the date itself comes from two official statements that do not say quite the same thing. The Authority's practice points tie the notification to the company filing: «The ESN submission deadline is the same as the AR filing deadline», which is the last business day of March before 5PM. The Authority's economic substance guidance names a calendar date instead, «namely 31 March each year». In most years the two coincide; in a year when 31 March falls at a weekend they do not, and the earlier of them governs because the annual return cannot be filed without the notification. The end of March is therefore shown here as indicative rather than exact.

Much narrower than the notification. Section 7(3): «Subject to subsection (4), a relevant entity that is carrying on a relevant activity and is required to satisfy the economic substance test shall, no later than twelve months after the last day of the end of each financial year of the relevant entity commencing on or after the prescribed date, prepare and submit to the Authority a report.» Three conditions stack: the entity must be a relevant entity, it must carry on a relevant activity, and it must be required to satisfy the test. A «relevant entity» under paragraph 1(1) of the Schedule «means — a company, other than a domestic company», with investment funds and entities tax resident outside the Islands excluded. A «domestic company» in turn «means a company that is not part of an MNE Group and that is — only carrying on business in the Islands and which complies with section 4(1) of the Local Companies (Control) Act (2025 Revision) or section 3(a) of the Trade and Business Licensing Act (2026 Revision); or a company referred to in section 80 of the Companies Act (2026 Revision)». Which of these cases a company falls into is settled by the notification it has already made, which is why this record is keyed to that status and not to a size threshold.

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.

Every legal person within the Act, but the content of the duty splits by category. A legal person in one of the categories listed in section 12(1)(a) to (d) «shall provide to its corporate services provider written confirmation of its category» along with the particulars that category requires. A legal person in the catch-all category of section 12(1)(e) must go further and identify under section 6(2) «every individual that is a beneficial owner of the legal person», together with reportable legal entities and any relevant trustee or contact person. Where the particulars are incomplete, the provider's notice under section 18(3) gives thirty days before a restrictions notice follows; records removed from the register are kept five years under section 16(b).

Extensions and exceptions: No extension, and the thirty days do not run from the change itself. Section 14(1) requires the legal person to give notice of a relevant change «no later than thirty days after it learns of the change», and regulation 3(3) of the 2024 Regulations puts the same limit on amendments to the particulars: «within thirty days of becoming aware of that fact». The clock therefore starts on the day the company becomes aware, which is a date only the company knows. Two shorter limits sit nearby and should not be mistaken for this one: under section 8(2) the recipient of a notice has «no later than thirty days after the receipt of the notice» to answer, and under section 12(8) an appointed contact person must supply requested information «within twenty-four hours of a request being made».

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.

Only a person carrying on a trade or business in or from within the Islands, and then for each trade and each place of business separately. An exempted company whose director declares that «the operations of the exempted company have been mainly outside the Islands» ordinarily holds no such licence, which is why this obligation does not travel with every Cayman company. The Department states that a business must «take out an annual licence in respect of each place where such business is carried on», while eligible local businesses may «apply for multi-year licenses valid up to five years». Compliance with the licensing Act also feeds the economic substance regime: a «domestic company» is defined partly by complying with «section 3(a) of the Trade and Business Licensing Act (2026 Revision)».

Extensions and exceptions: The window opens and closes before expiry, not after, and the Act fixes no term from which a date could be computed. Section 23(1) provides only that «a licence shall be valid for the period specified in the licence», and the fees in Schedule 1 are charged «for each year of the period that is to be specified in the relevant licence» — so the term is whatever the licence says, from one year up to five for an eligible local business. Section 18(3) then sets the window: «An application for the renewal of a licence shall be made at least twenty-eight days before» and «but not more than three months before, the date of expiry of the licence». Both ends matter: applying too early is as much outside the window as applying too late. No date exists for this obligation until the expiry date on the licence in hand is supplied.

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.