Hong Kong Company Annual Renewal and Maintenance Costs
The annual costs to be expected to maintain a private company limited by shares registered in Hong Kong in good standing could be divided into two parts. The first part is fixed and considered to be the basic or minimum costs required and is fixed and the second part is varied and determined by the nature of the business, volume of transaction and amount of turnover and a few other factors.
Basic Costs
The basic annual costs to maintain a Hong Kong company in good standing are estimated to be around USD854.00. In particulars, the annual maintenance costs consist of the following items:
Items with fixed fees:
1. Annual retainer for acting as company secretary: USD320 (note 1)
2. Registered Office fee: USD200 (note 2)
3. Payment of business registration fee: USD320 (subject to change by the Government)
4. Annual Return statutory filing fee: USD14 (subject to change by the Government)
Variable Costs
The following costs are arrived taken into consideration of the nature of the business, the volume of transactions, amount of turnover and a few other factors.
Items with variable fees:
5. Book-keeping fee: NIL if not operating; fees to be determined according to the nature of business and number of transactions.
6. Statutory audit fee: USD600 if operation is minimal; exact fee will be determined according to a number of factors, such as the nature of business and amount of turnover etc.
7. Filing of Profits Tax Return : USD75 up (More on Reporting Requirements)
8. Filing of Employer’s Return: USD30 up (More on Employer’s Return)
Note:
1. The annual retainer for provision of Company Secretary covers the following services:
(1) Provision of one Corporate Company Secretary (Kaizen Secretaries Limited acts as Company Secretary);
(2) Preparation and filing of Annual Return;
(3) Filing of notice of change of registered office and business address; preparation of minutes;
(4) Filing of notice of change of directors and secretary.
2. The annual cost for provision of Registered Office covers the following services:
(1) Provision of one street address as Registered Office of your Hong Kong company;
(2) Forward government mails to any location specified by clients. Please note handling fee of USD5 plus actual postage will be charged for each batch of mails forwarded.
(3) Please note the Registered Office is not to be used for business purpose unless otherwise agreed by Kaizen.
Annual Maintenance Fee Dates and Penalties
(1) Renewal of Registered Office and Company Secretary
Our Company Secretary and Registered Office services are to be renewed on the anniversary of incorporation.
(2) Filing of Annual Return
An Annual Return is required to be filed within 42 days after the anniversary of incorporation together with the payment of a statutory filing fee of HKD105 (USD14).
Consequences of Non-filing or Filing Late
| |
Companies have to pay higher registration fees for filing Annual Returns late. For a local private company having a share capital , the registration fee payable for the late delivery of an Annual Return is:
| If the Annual Return is delivered: |
HK$ |
|
|
more than 42 days after but within 3 months after the anniversary of incorporation |
870 |
|
|
more than 3 months after but within 6 months after the anniversary of incorporation |
1,740 |
|
|
more than 6 months after but within 9 months after the anniversary of incorporation |
2,610 |
|
|
more than 9 months after the anniversary of incorporation |
3,480 |
|
| |
In addition, companies which fail to file annual returns or file annual returns late are liable to prosecution and, if convicted, pay the fines imposed by the court. The maximum level of fine for a company which failed to comply with the requirements for completing and filing annual return is a fixed penalty of HK$50,000 and a daily default fine of HK$700.
|
(3) Renewal of Business Registration Certificate
The Business Registration is due for renewal around one month before and after it is expired. The current business registration fee is HKD450 (USD60) per annum. Late renewal will attract a penalty of HKD300 (USD40). Further delay will result in court proceeding and extra fine.
As the filing of Annual Return, renewal of Business Registration Certificate and Registered Office and Company Secretary services are due at the same time. Therefore, we normally send out notice of the annual renewal for all these items two months before they fall due and payment is expected at least 3 weeks before due date so as to allow us time to process the annual renewal.
Please note that our primary means of communication is email so please make sure we are being notified immediately should you change your email address.
(4) Annual Statutory Audit and Filing of Profits Tax Return
If a company choose to have its accounting year ended on 31 March, it is required to have its financial statements audited and the profits tax return filed with the Inland Revenue Department (Hong Kong Tax Authority) on or before 15 November the same year.
Late filing of Profits Tax Return will initially result in a fine of HKD1,200 (USD155) and further delay may result in court proceeding and extra fines.
For further information or assistance, please call us:
Hong Kong Office: +852 2341 1444
Singapore Office: +65 6295 2884
Shenzhen Office: +86 755 8268 4480
Shanghai Office: +86 21 6439 4114
Beijing Office: +86 10 6874 8420
or send email to enquiries@bycpa.com.
| 
