Hello, dear colleague! In today’s article we will deal with such a well-known concept as “offshore”. Many procurement participants have heard the term itself, but not everyone knows what it is and how it works. Also, clause 10, part 1, article 31 of 44-FZ establishes a requirement for procurement participants, which states that the participant must not be an offshore company. In this regard, I suggest you understand this concept in as much detail as possible. You are ready? Then go ahead!
1. What is offshore?
Such a concept as “offshore”/“offshore” has an economic-geographical orientation rather than a legal one, since there is no law on offshore companies in Russia.
What is “offshore” in simple words? These are companies registered in countries that provide preferential conditions, namely the absence or minimum interest rate on taxes and other fees.
An offshore jurisdiction is a country in which it is legally approved to provide companies registered on its territory with benefits or a complete waiver of taxes, and there is also no reporting to the accounting and tax authorities.
It should be noted that exemption from various payments to an offshore company at the place of so-called “registration” does not relieve it from these obligations at the place of actual presence.
Offshore translated from English as “off shore” means “outside the border”. You can often find this concept written with one letter “f” - this is not a mistake, but in the business community it is customary to use it with a double letter.
In general, the concept of “offshore” has a rather long history of development. Even in ancient times, merchants took their goods outside their cities of residence and sold them in other territories where taxes were lower.
For the first time in legal practice, the concept of offshore was used in the second half of the 20th century. In one of the UK newspapers, this word was used to describe the successful activities of a company that transferred its assets to another country.
Russian business gained access to offshore zones in 1991 after the collapse of the USSR. At this time, the first representative of offshore business from Switzerland appeared in Russia.
Offshore jurisdictions have several types and differ from each other in a number of parameters:
- ease of working with the company (requirements for the composition of directors and founders, authorized capital, costs associated with the creation, maintenance and maintenance of the company);
- the basis for tax exemption (complete absence of taxes in accordance with the law, taxes on income received in the territory of these states, and so on);
- reputation of the jurisdiction (presence of the country on various blacklists, compliance with international law, availability of information about the company and founders, etc.);
- stability of legislation.
Despite the fact that global legislation in this area has tightened control over offshore companies, this type of business continues to be popular. Thus, in this paragraph of the article we discussed with you what offshore means and why offshores are needed.
2. Pros and cons of opening or purchasing ready-made offshore companies
The concept of “offshore” has already steadily entered our lives. Many people believe that opening this type of company is the best option. The pros and cons of opening an offshore company can be considered both from the point of view of registering a new company, and from the point of view of purchasing an already ready one. Let's look at both situations.
So, in the case of initial registration of offshore companies, there are the following positive and negative aspects.
Positive sides
- You can open an offshore company in 2-3 days, without having to go to the country of jurisdiction;
- low percentage of taxes or complete absence;
- no restrictions on the export/import of currency;
- Doing business internationally tends to lead to faster growth rates;
- complete confidentiality of information about the owners of the company;
- minimal costs for opening an offshore company;
- presence of a trusted manager;
- a wide range of forms of conducting commercial activities.
Negative sides
- difficulty in obtaining loans for an offshore company;
- The offshore registration itself will take no more than 2-3 days, but you will not be able to start activities until you receive the original documents in your hands. As a rule, shipment will take 2-3 weeks;
- large reputable companies do not particularly trust offshore companies;
- Currently, in the EU countries there is increased attention to this kind of companies, but if you conduct legal activities, no inspections will be scary.
Thus, there are much more advantages than disadvantages in the case of registering a new company offshore.
Now I propose to consider the positive and negative aspects of purchasing ready-made offshore companies. In this matter it is difficult to create a comparative table, so I propose to consider it step by step.
The easiest and fastest way to become the owner of an offshore company is to buy a ready-made one. This type of company is also called shelf and the advantage is that all the legal aspects have already been completed, so you don’t have to wait for days and weeks. The agent providing the services, as a rule, registers the company in advance, selects the name and nominee directors. When purchasing a ready-made company, all paperwork is simply reissued, which allows you to reduce the time frame.
In addition to the speed of registration, there is also the issue of the duration of the company’s existence. On papers of this kind, an offshore company can exist for quite a long time and not have any complaints from the inspection authorities; information about when you became the owner is hidden from absolutely everyone, so you can buy a ready-made offshore company with a positive reputation that has already been “accumulated over the years.”
But in addition to the positive aspects of buying a ready-made company, there are also negative ones.
It is impossible to exclude the possibility that there are no debt obligations on a ready-made offshore, even if it exists for only a few days. It is also extremely difficult to verify this kind of information. The only guarantor can only be a legal company organizing an offshore purchase and sale transaction.
Also, another point that may discourage you from buying a company offshore is the already existing name, which cannot be changed. For many, this moment is fundamental.
And finally, the last, but by no means simple negative point in buying a registered offshore company is a transaction with an agent who, as it were, sells you a ready-made offshore company, but in fact he does not have one. First, the agent finds a buyer, then registers a new company in his name, and then registers it in your name. Thus, the most important advantage - speed of registration - is completely lost.
Here are the main pros and cons of registering offshore companies.
3. How to register an offshore company?
Tax and insurance payments are constantly growing, and the question increasingly arises: “How to open an offshore company?” Although global legislation is tightening its attitude towards offshore companies, it is nevertheless quite possible to register a company in another country.
Most often, in order to open an offshore company, Russian businessmen resort to the services of intermediaries. This reduces the time of the procedure itself, since experienced specialists know how to do everything. Also, the cost of this service is usually justified. Here it is important to understand that the entrepreneur receives guarantees and confidence that everything will be done competently, clearly and quickly.
If an entrepreneur wants to avoid overpayments, you can try to carry out this procedure yourself. Each offshore jurisdiction has a clearly stated description of the registration procedure. The main and paramount thing is the competent choice of a “tax haven” with optimal conditions. It is important to assess the degree of confidentiality and restrictions on engaging in commercial activities.
In order to open a company in an offshore country, you need to choose an original name, after which you either turn to an intermediary company for help or collect a package of documents yourself and send it to the registration authority.
After a positive decision is made, the offshore company is entered into the official register, and the original documents are received in hand, you can begin to conduct business. It is important to understand that at any stage of registration you may need competent advice and assessment from an experienced lawyer.
Below you will be presented with a list of offshore countries with the approximate cost of registration, nominee service and annual payments. Please note that these figures are not exact.
In addition to the countries presented above, also offshore countries are the Cayman Islands (registration cost will be 7,500 US dollars), Scotland (registration cost will be 2,500 US dollars), Luxembourg (registration cost will be 23,200 US dollars), etc.
4. Main opportunities for using offshore companies
In this paragraph of the article, it would have been easier, of course, to use the concept of a “scheme” for using offshore companies, but I think that it is more suitable for illegal types of activities. Therefore, I propose to consider the main opportunities that open up when using companies in an offshore zone.
- Organization of export-import relations. This option can facilitate the entry of your products, goods and services into the international market.
- Creation of a large holding company dealing with monetary, industrial and other assets. Due to the fact that information about the offshore is completely hidden, this provides a great opportunity for the development of the holding.
- Creation of an insurance company, bank and other financial institution. Companies with large assets, as a rule, are more interested in fiscal benefits than others.
- Registration by an offshore company of any large expensive property (yacht, ship, aircraft, etc.). A ship flying the flag of an international company provides a huge amount of financial and sometimes political opportunities.
- Copyright and intellectual property can be registered offshore.
- Financial funds in offshore zones are most often created by large businessmen withdrawing from the global market.
- For those who do business on the Internet, the best form of doing business is offshore. The inability to relate to any territory and track a specific geography of activity makes an offshore company practically invulnerable.
These are not all the opportunities that offshore opens up for doing business. It all depends on the direction of the planned activity, as well as on the country in which the offshore company is registered.
In the next paragraph of the article we will focus on the most frequently asked questions, one way or another related to the activities of offshore companies.
5. Frequently asked questions
How to open an account offshore?
An offshore bank account is a guarantee of your confidence in the future and the security of your assets. In order to open an account, you don’t need to make any extra efforts, just choose a bank that is convenient and suitable for you, collect and send the necessary documents.
Of course, there is some risk. Suffice it to recall the Cyprus crisis of 2014 and 2015, when all assets, including those of foreign citizens and companies, were frozen, but, you see, by placing financial funds in Russian banks, you are also not immune from such incidents.
It is important to understand the difference in concepts between an offshore bank and a bank in an offshore zone.
An offshore bank, in fact, is any bank outside the state of your residence and registration. An offshore bank is a financial institution registered and/or located in countries with preferential tax rates or their complete absence. As a rule, these types of banks have much higher interest rates on deposits and cheaper services, but are no less reliable than others.
In any case, it is important to know that all information about you in this kind of financial institutions is completely hidden.
Opening an offshore bank account for a company will be a little more difficult, since such serious institutions value their reputation and conduct a thorough check of their clients.
Liquidation of LLC through offshore
Liquidation through an offshore company is a convenient way to reduce a company’s debts to the state, as well as the opportunity to legally “bounce off” outstanding loans. This method is completely legal provided that all legal standards are followed. Naturally, liquidating an LLC through an offshore company carries risks, but they can be avoided by attracting a competent team of lawyers.
Earning money offshore
In the previous paragraphs of the article, I have already described in detail how offshore companies work and how to register such a company. The answer to this question is most likely in the nature of a conclusion from all of the above. You can make money offshore by reducing the company's tax payments. If you plan to have a large turnover of funds, then the amount for registering and maintaining an offshore company will very quickly return to you in the form of reduced costs for taxes and other payments to the budget. The list of offshore companies, or rather countries with approximate cost of service, is presented above.
Where and how to buy offshore?
You can buy a ready-made offshore from a specialized company. Just enter “buy offshore” into your browser search and you will immediately see a fairly large list of Russian companies providing such services.
6. Conclusions
Thus, you should not be afraid of offshores, as this is a very real way of doing business and reducing a large number of costs. I highly recommend that before you rush headlong into the pool and start collecting documents on your own, draw up a detailed one and carry it out in order to conduct a complete analysis of the risks and benefits and not go broke in the future.
This concludes my article. Now you know almost everything about offshore companies and offshore zones. I hope that this material was useful to you. Good luck to you and see you again on the pages of the site.
Business is a complicated thing. And cruel. In the world of money, deals and business suits, there are hundreds of traps that threaten an entrepreneur with ruin. A striking example of this is the cooperation of legal companies with offshore companies. Why is such a partnership dangerous, what exactly can it lead to, and how to avoid this problem? These are the questions that will be addressed in this article.
Basic information.
“Offshores” in our country are those enterprises that were registered in states with preferential taxation. For example - in Cyprus, Singapore, the Virgin Islands, etc. The characteristic features of the financial policies of most of these powers are:
1) Minimum number of taxes;
2) Refusal of the camp tax. In other words, the entrepreneur pays a strictly fixed amount to the budget of the offshore country. Regardless of the size of your own income.
The essence of the problem.
It would seem - what’s wrong with cooperation with a company that is registered in a state with such a loyal financial policy? At first glance, nothing. But if you look at this issue more closely, you can find many “buts”. Firstly, such companies one way or another deceive their own state, depriving it of legitimate income. Which, naturally, raises suspicions.
Secondly, many offshore companies maintain complete confidentiality of the financial affairs of their investors. That is, companies registered in such countries often have connections with criminals and use “dirty capital.” It is not possible to check their honesty or find out where they got the money from.
Thirdly, suing an offshore company is not just difficult, but incredibly difficult. After all, the filed claim will be considered in another country. Let's think - are there many specialists in the Russian Federation who are well versed in international legislation and have experience in this field? Of course not. Accordingly, the cost of their services is at a consistently high level.
It is worth noting that such claims take a very long time to be considered. In addition, many of them are rejected due to incorrectly completed documents. Finally, in many states there is a law according to which the losing party in court pays legal costs (cost of lawyers, etc.).
How to determine whether a company is offshore or not?
If you want to find out the information you are interested in without involving outside specialists, you are recommended to:
1) Study all published information about your potential partner;
2) Send a request to various government services to obtain valuable data;
3) Give up on this matter and turn to professionals for help.
There are many compelling arguments suggesting that independently determining whether a company is “offshore” is stupid. Here are a few of them:
1) This process will take a lot of time;
2) No one guarantees that it will not be wasted;
3) Many answers can only be obtained by having the necessary contacts and access to places where ordinary citizens are not allowed;
4) Cooperation with professionals is more profitable from the financial side.
What “specialists” are we talking about and what exactly can they offer an entrepreneur?
Nowadays there are many Internet companies whose activities are related to information search and analysis. They take some data from open sources, while others get to them thanks to the necessary contacts, loopholes in the law, etc.
What exactly do companies of this type offer?
A wide range of information regarding a particular company. With their help you can obtain data regarding it:
1) The size of the authorized capital;
2) Trustworthiness;
3) Profitability;
4) Liquidity;
5) Relations with other enterprises;
6) Balance sheet;
7) Stories;
8) Manuals.
And much more.
How reliable are these companies?
It all depends on the specific artist. But in 90% of cases there is no doubt in the data provided by them.
To sum it up.
It is almost impossible to determine the “offshore status” of a particular company on your own. Or at least difficult and expensive. But if you are determined to check your future partner, there is a way out - you can turn to outside specialists.
The bill banning offshore companies from participating in procurement was adopted in the third reading
Additional requirements may be established for the procurement of consulting services.
Only the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation can officially explain the norms of Law No. 44-FZ
Document: Letter of the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia dated February 23, 2015 N D28i-305
Key words: explanations of Law N 44-FZ; Ministry of Economic Development of Russia
The bill banning offshore companies from participating in procurement was adopted in the third reading
Such companies will include legal entities if they are registered in a state or territory included in the list, which will be approved in accordance with paragraphs. 1 clause 3 art. 284 Tax Code of the Russian Federation.
Document: draft Federal Law N 694962-6 (http://asozd2.duma.gov.ru/main.nsf/%28SpravkaNew%29?OpenAgent&RN=694962-6&02)
Adopted in the third reading by the State Duma
Guide to the contract system in the field of public procurement: more about procurement participants
Government procurement: main news (http://www.consultant.ru/law/review/fed/fks2015-01-16.html): on the ban on offshore companies participating in procurement
Key words: offshore companies; ban on participation; Law N 44-FZ
Additional requirements may be established for the procurement of consulting services.
From July 1, the Government of the Russian Federation received the right to determine additional requirements for participants in the procurement of consulting, as well as audit and audit-related services. This change was made to Art. 31 of Law No. 44-FZ.
The procurement method that would enable these requirements to be met is not specified. At the same time, corresponding changes were made only to the norms of Law No. 44-FZ regulating the conduct of an electronic auction.
Due to the lack of the necessary Resolution of the Government of the Russian Federation, the following question remains unresolved: is it possible to establish such requirements not only for an electronic auction, but also for other procurement methods?
The Government of the Russian Federation received a similar right within the framework of procurement under Law No. 223-FZ.
Document: Federal Law of June 29, 2015 N 210-FZ
Key words: audit and consulting services; Law N 44-FZ; Law N 223-FZ.
Only the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation can officially explain the norms of Law No. 44-FZ
Only such clarifications of Law No. 44-FZ will have legal significance. This opinion of the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia is based on the Resolution of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation dated November 17, 1997 N 17-P.
The explanations given by the Ministry are not official and generally binding. They reflect the department’s position on the application of the provisions of Law No. 44-FZ.
When providing 2 parts by email. The winner of the auction was provided with a Declaration of compliance of the participant with the requirements of Part 1 of Article 31 of the 44-FZ, which does NOT specify the following points: 7.1) procurement participant is a legal entity that, within two years before submitting an application for participation in the procurement, was not brought to administrative responsibility for committing an administrative offense under Article 19.28 of the Code of the Russian Federation on Administrative Offenses; 10) the procurement participant is not an offshore company. Should we reject this participant?
Answer
Konstantin Edelev, expert of the State Order System
From August 14, 2019, the procedure for calculating fines under 44-FZ was changed: the requirement for a fixed amount was removed, and the penalty for SMP and SONO was reduced. In the article you will find all the current rules. Working with penalties will be simplified by examples of wording and judicial practice.
Based on the literal interpretation of the provisions of clause 7.1, part 1, art. 31 of Law No. 44-FZ, this requirement applies only to legal entities. Accordingly, individuals or individuals without forming a legal entity do not need to declare information on compliance with the requirements for procurement participants, which are provided for in clause 7.1, part 1, art. 31 of Law No. 44-FZ.
Moreover, if the procurement participant is a legal entity and when declaring its compliance with the requirements established by clauses 3 - 9 of part 1 of Article 31 of Law No. 44-FZ, its compliance with clause 7.1, part 1 of Art. 31 of Law No. 44-FZ, then the application for participation in the electronic auction is recognized as not meeting the requirements established by the documentation for such an auction on the basis of clause 1, part 6 of Art. 69 of Law No. 44-FZ.
A participant in an electronic auction does not need to declare that he is not an offshore company. However, if the customer becomes aware that the participant is an offshore company, then the commission has the right to remove him from the auction at any time. This is stated in Part 9 of Article 31 of Law No. 44-FZ.
In the second part of the bid, must the bidder provide a declaration that he is not an offshore company?
No, you shouldn't. However, if the customer becomes aware that the participant is an offshore company, then the commission has the right to remove him from the auction at any time. This is stated in Part 9 of Article 31 of Law No. 44-FZ.
The prohibition for offshore companies to participate in procurement is established by clause 10 of part 1 of article 31 of Law No. 44-FZ.
Electronic auction participant - offshore company
According to clause 6, part 5, art. 63 of the Federal Law of April 5, 2013 No. 44-FZ “On the contract system in the field of procurement of goods, works, services to meet state and municipal needs” (hereinafter referred to as Law No. 44-FZ), the notice of an electronic auction establishes the requirements, presented to participants in such an auction, and an exhaustive list of documents that must be presented by participants in such an auction in accordance with clause 1, part 1, part 2 and part 2.1 (if there are such requirements) Art. 31 of Law No. 44-FZ, as well as the requirement imposed on participants in such an auction in accordance with Part 1.1 (if there is such a requirement) Art. 31 of Law No. 44-FZ.
In accordance with clause 10, part 1, art. 31 of Law No. 44-FZ, the notice establishes the requirement that the procurement participant is not an offshore company.
In turn, in accordance with clause 2, part 5, art. 66 of Law No. 44-FZ, the second part of the application for participation in an electronic auction must contain documents confirming the compliance of the participant in such an auction with the requirements established by clause 1, part 1, part 2 and part 2.1 of Art. 31 (if there are such requirements) of Law No. 44-FZ, or copies of these documents, as well as a declaration of compliance of the participant in such an auction with the requirements established by paragraphs. 3 - 9 hours 1 tbsp. 31 of Law No. 44-FZ.
That is, the participant in the electronic auction does not declare that he is not an offshore company.
Also in accordance with Part 8 of Art. 31 of Law No. 44-FZ, the auction commission is not obliged, but only has the right to check the participant in the electronic auction for compliance with the requirement established in accordance with clause 10, part 1 of Art. 31 of Law No. 44-FZ, since such an obligation lies with the operator of the electronic platform (Part 8.1 of Article 31 of Law No. 44-FZ).
But since the auction commission has the right to check the participant in the electronic auction for compliance with the requirement established in accordance with clause 10, part 1, art. 31 of Law No. 44-FZ, we will inform you how to do this.
According to paragraph 1 of Art. 1 of Law No. 227-FZ, an offshore company is a legal entity whose place of registration is the state or territory included in the one approved in accordance with paragraphs. 1 clause 3 art. 284 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, a list of states and territories that provide preferential tax treatment and (or) do not provide for the disclosure and provision of information when conducting financial transactions (offshore zones) in relation to legal entities.
According to paragraphs. 1 clause 3 art. 284 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, the following tax rates are applied to the tax base determined by income received in the form of dividends:
- 0 percent - on income received by Russian organizations in the form of dividends, provided that on the day the decision to pay dividends is made, the organization receiving dividends for at least 365 calendar days continuously owns by right of ownership at least a 50 percent contribution (shares) in the charter (share) capital (fund) of the organization paying dividends or depositary receipts giving the right to receive dividends in an amount corresponding to at least 50 percent of the total amount of dividends paid by the organization.
Moreover, if the organization paying dividends is foreign, the tax rate established by this subparagraph is applied to organizations whose state of permanent location is not included in the list of states and territories approved by the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation that provide preferential tax treatment and (or) do not provide disclosure and provision of information when conducting financial transactions (offshore zones).
Thus, the list of states and territories that provide preferential tax treatment and (or) do not provide for the disclosure and provision of information when conducting financial transactions (offshore zones) (hereinafter referred to as the List) was approved by Order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated November 13, 2007 No. 108n.
Thus, the List includes, for example, the following offshore zones:
- Anguilla;
- Principality of Andorra;
- Antigua and Barbuda;
- Aruba;
- Commonwealth of the Bahamas;
- Kingdom of Bahrain;
- Belize;
- Bermuda, etc.
The auction commission reviews the second parts of applications for participation in the electronic auction and documents sent to the customer by the operator of the electronic site in accordance with Part 19 of Art. 68 of Law No. 44-FZ, in terms of compliance with their requirements established by the documentation for such an auction (Part 1, Article 69 of Law No. 44-FZ).
According to Part 19 of Art. 68 of Law No. 44-FZ within one hour after posting the protocol specified in Part 18 of Art. 68 of Law No. 44-FZ, the operator of the electronic site is obliged to send to the customer the specified protocol and the second parts of applications for participation in such an auction submitted by its participants, proposals for the contract price of which, when ranked in accordance with Part 18 of Art. 68 of Law No. 44-FZ received the first ten serial numbers, or if less than ten participants took part in such an auction, the second parts of applications for participation in such an auction submitted by its participants, as well as the documents of these participants, provided for in paragraphs. 2 - 6 and 8 hours 2 tbsp. 61 of Law No. 44-FZ and contained on the date and time of the deadline for filing applications for participation in such an auction in the register of its participants who have received accreditation on the electronic platform. During this period, the operator of the electronic platform is also obliged to send appropriate notifications to these participants.
According to clause 4, part 2, art. 62 of Law No. 44-FZ in the register of participants in an electronic auction who have received accreditation on an electronic platform, in relation to each participant in such an auction there must be a copy of an extract from the unified state register of legal entities (for a legal entity), a copy of an extract from the unified state register of individual entrepreneurs (for individual entrepreneur) received no earlier than six months before the date of application for accreditation by a participant in such an auction, copies of identification documents of a participant in such an auction (for another individual), a duly certified translation into Russian of documents on state registration of a legal entity or an individual as an individual entrepreneur in accordance with the legislation of the relevant foreign state (for a foreign person).
That is, the auction commission can, in order to check the participant in the electronic auction for compliance with the requirement established under clause 10, part 1, art. 31 of Law No. 44-FZ, use, for example, a duly certified translation into Russian of documents on state registration of a legal entity in accordance with the legislation of the relevant foreign state, checking in these documents the place of registration of the legal entity.
When concluding a contract, the customer is not obliged (he has the right) to check whether the winner of the electronic auction is an offshore company, he can also do this, like the auction commission, and if at the stage of concluding the contract the customer establishes the fact that the winner of the electronic auction is offshore company, then in accordance with Part 9 of Art. 31 of Law No. 44-FZ, he must refuse to enter into a contract.
In modern market conditions, concepts such as offshore zones and offshore companies have become quite stable. In the media you can see many advertisements offering services for registering an enterprise in a tax-free territory or opening an account in some major bank in the world.
Definition
Offshore companies are legal entities registered in a jurisdiction in which there are no exchange controls and preferential taxation. These organizations do not operate in the territory where they are registered. The owners of such companies are non-residents of the country. Such organizations arise in those countries whose legislation fully or partially exempts enterprises that do not conduct business in the territory of registration from taxation. It should be noted that the benefits apply only to work outside the country where the company is registered. To conduct a full-fledged business in any other state, it is necessary to conclude an appropriate agreement. This avoids
Offshore companies: 44 Federal Law
On August 13, 2015, Law No. 227 came into force. It introduced a number of amendments to the regulatory act regulating procurement for municipal and state needs. From this moment on, customers in the documentation establish a mandatory requirement for participants that they do not act as offshore companies. This provision, however, does not apply to request for quotation, electronic auction and pre-selection. In the first and last cases, control over the implementation of amendments to the Law is carried out when concluding a contract. During an electronic auction, the site operator will refuse registration if applications are submitted by offshore companies. 44 of the Federal Law in all other cases obliges the customer commission to establish the nature of the participant’s registration. However, it does not have the right to demand from the organization submitting the application confirmation of the fact that it is not an offshore company.
Specifics
According to the provisions of international law, offshore companies are independent organizations that operate under the laws of the countries in which they are registered. Today there are about 60 states in the world whose regulations provide for preferential taxation. Enterprises registered in such countries can open accounts in any major banks in an unlimited number. In fact, the activities of such organizations are not accountable to anyone. In almost all “tax-free” countries, annual reporting involves the transfer of a fixed fee.
Purpose
There are several reasons why businessmen open offshore companies. This:
- Safe. Let's say an entrepreneur has some funds on hand that he wants to put in a safe place. At the same time, he would like to have immediate access to them, freely manage his money and move it around the world. In addition, the businessman seeks to escape political instability in his country and ease his tax burden. To solve all these problems, you need to find a bank in a reliable country. But he will not be able to open a private account in a foreign financial institution, since this requires a license from the Russian Federation. In addition, there is a possibility of disclosure of his data. In particular, in payment documents in the “Recipient” field his name will be indicated or the credit card will indicate the presence of an account abroad. However, the law does not prohibit opening a company in your own name and registering it in a “tax-free country.” The businessman will be a director and manage the company’s account. And no one will know that he is the owner.
- Business participant. When managing, it is necessary to optimize taxes, speed up document flow, and also protect yourself from fiscal services. Offshore companies are a business model that allows you to get rid of many problems. Such organizations act as intermediaries between a local enterprise and a buyer (seller) when conducting foreign economic activity.
- Securities market participant. In this case, the offshore company opens a special account in a domestic bank and works with
- OS sales. When importing, for example, a beverage bottling line, you do not have to pay VAT and customs duties. When opening an offshore company, fixed assets are contributed as the authorized capital. You can also lease equipment for a domestic enterprise, transfer interest on it abroad, and include payments as expenses.
Domestic practice
Offshore companies in Russia are of particular value. It lies in the fact that it becomes possible to legally freely move capital. In difficult conditions that can destroy entire sectors of the economy, it is the offshore scheme that allows you to achieve high profits in business. The need to create such an organization arises, as a rule, from those entrepreneurs who receive a good income and want it to remain that way and not change in the event of market instability or government intervention. It should be said that the use of offshore companies is widespread throughout the world. However, the goals of creating such organizations are different. As for Russia, here entrepreneurs, as mentioned above, are trying to protect their capital from taxes, the ineffective unfavorable investment situation in the country and high risks. This is the main motivation for exporting money abroad and concealing the fact of ownership of an object on the territory of the state.
How to check if a company is offshore?
This can be done in two ways: on your own or seek help from specialists. How to confirm that the company is not offshore yourself? To do this you need:
- Study all published information about the company you are interested in.
- Send requests to various government agencies.
However, this process will take quite a long time. In addition, there is absolutely no guarantee that all requests will be answered, and some facts can only be clarified if you have the necessary connections.
Help from companies
As for specialists, many of those who offer such assistance have been searching for information for quite a long time. This means that they have the necessary connections, experience and knowledge. Such companies can provide information about:
- The amount of the authorized capital of the company of interest.
- Profitability.
- Reliability.
- Liquidity.
- Balance sheet.
- Availability of connections with other companies.
- Management.
- Activity history and so on.
Conclusion
The reliability of the information, of course, will depend on the performer himself. But, as practice shows, in 90% of cases the information provided by such specialized companies is worth believing. It should be said that an independent search for information, as a rule, does not lead to anything, or the interested person receives only superficial, unimportant information. In order not to waste time, it is better to pay specialists who will provide answers to all questions.
