- 1 director : at least one individual director aged 18 over with no nationality restriction; both individual or body corporate can be a director.

- 1 shareholder : both individual aged 18 over or body corporate can be a director. There is no nationality restriction for an individual shareholder.

- A company secretary : a Hong Kong resident or a licensed Trust and Company Services Licensee.   A single director cannot serve as the company secretary at the same time.

- A Hong Kong registered address (P.O. Box is not acceptable).

- A nominated person to keep the Register of Significant Controllers.

Our Express Service needs 3 hours to set up a Hong Kong company.  Normal at 6-8 days.

A Hong Kong company name can be in English or English/Chinese and must end with “Limited”.   It can be arabic numbers.   and can also contain Arabic numerals, but cannot be mixed in Chinese and English.  

Unless a separate license is applied for, a Hong Kong company name must not contain words that might mislead the company to have any relationship with the government (e.g. "XX Bureau") nor conducting activity which needs special license such as "bank", "insurance", “trust”. 

The Hong Kong company name can reflect your business or be completely different. It is not necessary to declare the business at the time of registration.  

The Hong Kong company name can be changed at any time after the company is established through a special resolution of the shareholders, within 15 days of filing a "Notice of Change of Company Name" with the Registrar of Companies. Once the new name is approved, the Registrar of Companies will issue a Certificate of Change of Name. 

The Companies Ordinance has abolished the concepts of "authorized share capital" and "par value". Therefore, the articles of association need not state this. There is no minimum share capital for a Hong Kong company, and the company can decide its own share capital. The usual number of share capital for a Hong Kong company is HK$1,000 or HK$10,000. 

Share capital of a Hong Kong company can be in HK dollar or in any currency.

There are three annual stautory maintenance for a Hong Kong company:

1.    Annual return (AR) filing to the Hong Kong Companies Registry.   It shows the company's issued share capital, company address, directors, shareholders, company secretary details and the amount of any registered charge.    It must be filed with the Companies Registry within 42 days after the anniversary date with a registration fee of HK$105. Late filing is subject to a significantly increased registration fee as below.  If a company fails to comply with the provision, 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.  

2.    Business registration (BR) renewal.   BR office of the Hong Kong Inland Revenue Department will issue a new BR certificate usually one month before the expiry date.   BR fee (currently at HK$250. BR fee is decide by the Financial Secretary annual Budget proposal) has to be paid to the BR office on time to additional penalty of HK$300.  Further delay in BR renewal will result in prosecution of the company, court hearing and daily fine.

3.    Filing of profits tax return (PTR) with audited accounts.   About 18 months after the establishment of the company, the first tax return issued by the tax office will be received.   The tax return will be submitted together with the latest audited accounts within 3 months from the return issuance date.   The second PTR must be submitted within 1 month from the return issuance date. 

In addition to the delivery of Annual Returns for registration, a Hong Kong registered company is required to deliver other statutory documents to the Registrar of Companies for registration in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Ordinance in certain circumstances such as :

- notices of change of address of registered office or principal place of business in Hong Kong

- notice of change of location for statutory record keeping

- appointment or resignation of directors and company secretaries

- changes of particulars of directors and companies secretaries

- changes of share capital e.g. allotment of shares

A Hong Kong company is a separate legal entity, that is, it is a legal person in its own right and separate from its owners. The benefit of limited liability through operating as a limited company also brings with it obligations in so much as the company must comply with the various provisions in the Companies Ordinance (Chapter 622 of the Laws of Hong Kong). 

Every officer of a Hong Kong company, including its director(s), company secretary or manager, has the responsibility to ensure that the company has complied with all the provisions of the Companies Ordinance. If a Hong Kong company fails to comply with the requirements of the Ordinance, the company and every responsible person of the company shall be liable to prosecution and, if convicted, default fines.

Q1.  What are the taxes in Hong Kong?

A1.  Taxes in Hong Kong are mainly divided into three categories: profits tax, salaries tax and property tax. 

- Profits tax is 8.25% on the first HK$2 million taxable profits and at 16.5% on taxable profits thereafter.  If the company does not make a profit or its profits arised out of Hong Kong, it does not need or may not need to pay profits tax.

- Salary tax at 15% on employment income.  

- Property tax is at 15% based on the rental income of the property after deducting the standard allowance of 20% for repairs and expenses.

Q2.   Do I need to pay customs duties for imported and exported goods in Hong Kong?

A2.  Except for tobacco, alcohol and gasoline, general import and export commodities do not need to pay customs duties.   But import and export commodities must be declared.

Q3.  Can INTERSHORES provide Hong Kong accounting and tax compliance services?

A3.   This is one of our expertise.   You only need to provide relevant information.   We will handle accounting, auditing and tax compliance on your behalf. The cost will be determined by the actual workload.  Please

Whatsapp at (852) 5681 1114

Emal at info@Intershores.hk

Phone at (852) 2186 6936.

Q4.  How is the afinancial year end determined for a Hong Kong?

A4.  The most common financial year end for tax assessment for a Hong Kong company is March 31 or December 31, and other month end can also be set as the year end.

Q5.  Can a Hong Kong company's profit be offset against the previous year's loss?

A5. Losses incurred in a year of assessment for a Hong Kong company may be carried forward and set off against the company's profits in subsequent years.

Q6.  What is Provisional Profits Tax of a Hong Kong company?

A6. Profits tax in Hong Kong is levied on actual profits for the year of assessment. Since profits for a year are not determined until after the end of the year, the Hong Kong Inland Revenue Department levies provisional tax until the end of the year. The provisional tax paid can be used to pay the profits tax payable for that year in the next year when the profits for the relevant year are assessed.

Q7.  Under what circumstances can a Hong Kong company be exempted from paying profits tax?

A7.  If the Hong Kong company's income is not derived from Hong Kong and the company has not established an office in Hong Kong  nor recruited Hong Kong employees, the profits earned may be exempted from profits tax.  Tax exemption for a Hong Kong company is not automatic.   The Hong Kong company has to apply to the Hong Kong Inland Revenue Department with evidence in order for the Kong Inland Revenue Department to consider tax exemption of offshore income.  It is at the Hong Kong company’s responsibility to provide proof of sufficient evidence to apply for offshore claim.  It is also at the Hong Kong Inland Revenue Department's  discretion to grant approval of offshore income tax exemption upon review of available information from the company.

Q8.  My Hong Kong company only opens an account in the bank, and collects and pays to the Chinese companies. Does the Hong Kong company need to do accounting, audit and tax reporting?

A8.  Yes, as the Hong Kong company is established for commercial purpose, even if Hong Kong only plays the role of collection and payment, the Hong Kong company still needs to do accounting and auditing to reflect the actual income.

Q9.  The Hong Kong company only opens accounts in foreign-funded banks in China or in non-Hong Kong countries. There is no bank accounts in Hong Kong.  In this way, is the business conducted by the Hong Kong company not required to file tax return in Hong Kong?

A9.   Hong Kong law stipulates that all Hong Kong companies are obliged to report their financial status to the Hong Kong Inland Revenue Department, regardless  whether their businesses take place in Hong Kong or not.   If the Hong Kong company's income is not derived from Hong Kong, it can apply to the Hong Kong Inland Revenue Department for tax exemption.

Q10.  Do foreigners or mainland Chinese nationals need to pay salaries taxin Hong Kong when they get salaries from employment in Hong Kong?

A10.  Salaries tax is payable on the salaries earned by non-HK residents while working in Hong Kong; however, Hong Kong salaries tax can be exempted if the following three conditions are met:
i.   The continuous or cumulative stay in Hong Kong does not exceed 183 days in a tax period ;
ii.  The remuneration is not paid by the Hong Kong employer
iii. The remuneration is not borne by the overseas company registered in Hong Kong.