Barbados is a country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies. It is surrounded by the Windward Islands, the Caribbean Sea, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Martinique, and it is northeast of Trinidad and Tobago. Bridgetown is the capital and largest city of Barbados. There are more than 280, 000 people living in Barbados, and English and Bajan creole are the official languages. Barbados is one of the best places for tourists to visit because it is one of the Caribbean islands. The Barbadian dollar is the currency used in Barbados (BBD). Barbados has a unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy form of government. Barbados is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the World Trade Organization, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the Organization of American States (OAS), and the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ). The Companies Act of 1982 is the law that governs how a company does business.
Registering a company
There are a lot of reasons why a business should be incorporated. Some of these are:
- To make a legal entity that is separate from its shareholders or members.
- Limiting the shareholders’ or members’ personal liability will make investing more appealing.
- To set up a legal entity with the same rights, powers, and privileges as a person.
- To make a legal entity that lasts forever in theory, can outlive its shareholders.
Requirements
In order for a company to be registered in Barbados, its activities must meet the following requirements:
- The business is set up in Barbados.
- Dividend payments to people who live in Caribbean Community Countries can’t be more than 10%.
As with corporations, sole traders and partnerships must first register with the Corporate Affairs and Intellectual Property Office (CAIPO) before they can register with the Barbados Revenue Authority. For sole traders and partnerships, registration application Forms A47:146 and A47:144 must be filled out and sent in with the Certificate of Registration from CAIPO. The TAMIS tax account number (TIN) is used to make sure that these types of Taxpayers are who they say they are. You are supposed to register in TAMIS to get your Tax ID number.
Certificates of tax reserve
The Barbados Revenue Authority is where all companies that do business in Barbados must sign up. But companies must be registered with the Corporate Affairs and Intellectual Property Office before they can sign up with the Authority. Fill out the Application for a Registration form (A47:147) and send it in with the following legal papers:
- Certificate of the establishment.
- The company’s founding documents.
- List of board members.
- Notice of the registered office address.
- Request to search for names and reserve names.
- The international business license by-laws (if applicable).
When the company is registered, it is given a tax account number and a reference number. When talking to the authority, these numbers must be used, and they must also be written on the company’s Corporation Tax Return when it is filed.
Section 5(1) of the Act spells out the rules that must be followed. The Articles of Incorporation must be in a suitable format and say, among other things, the following about the proposed company:
- The company’s proposed name.
- The classes and any maximum number of shares that the company is allowed to issue.
- Where the right to transfer company shares is to be limited.
- A statement saying that the right to transfer shares is limited and what those limits are.
- The number of directors, or the least and most directors the company can have.
- Any limits on the kind of business the company can do.
