| Macao
Offshore Company |
| |
| Under the Decree-Law No. 58/99/M
of Macao SAR effective from 1 November 1999, investors can operate
offshore business in Macao and enjoy tax exemption incentives, provided
that their operations are in accordance with the applicable offshore
legislative provisions and local statutory requirements. |
| |
Basic Criteria
for Offshore Services Operations |
| To operate offshore service business
in Macao, the investors must abide by the following rules: |
| 1. |
To use only
non-Macao currency in their activities |
| 2. |
To target only non-Macao
residents as customers |
| 3. |
To focus only on non-Macao
markets |
|
| |
| Tax Exemptions |
| Tax exemptions offered by Macao government
to the offshore business include: |
| Exemptions for corporation:- |
| 1. |
Macao complementary
tax (profit tax) |
| 2. |
Macao industrial tax (business
registration fee) |
| 3. |
Macao stamp duty levies
relating to offshore business |
|
| Exemption for individuals:- |
| Management and specialists (non-Macao
residents) employed by the offshore company can enjoy exemption from
Macao professional tax (salaries tax) for the first 3 calendar years
of their employment, provided that they have obtained Macao resident
permits. |
| |
| Types of Businesses |
| There are two types of businesses of
Macao offshore companies, they are: |
| 1. |
Offshore finance business,
regulated and supervised by the Macao Monetary Authority |
| 2. |
Offshore service business, regulated
and supervised by the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute
(“IPIM”) |
|
| Currently, most of the applications
for operating offshore business in Macao are of the type of offshore
service business. |
| |
| Types of Offshore Service Companies |
| There are two types of Macao offshore
service companies (“MOCs”): |
| 1. |
Offshore commercial
service institution
- can provide services to any third party, not limited to the
holding company |
| 2. |
Offshore auxiliary service institution
- can only provide services to the parent company |
|
| |
| Requirement of Company Name
of MOC |
| Company name of a MOC must include the
following wordings: |
Type of
MOC |
Wordings |
Offshore commercial
service institution |
“Macao Commercial
Offshore” |
Offshore auxiliary
service institution |
“Macao Auxiliary
Offshore” |
|
| |
| Range of Service Business |
| The Macao offshore law currently allows
a MOC to operate one or more of the following 20 categories of offshore
service businesses: |
1 |
Hardware
consultant |
2 |
Software
consultant |
3 |
Data
processing |
4 |
Database
related activities |
5 |
Back
offices activities |
6 |
Research
and development activities |
7 |
Tests
and technical analysis activities |
8 |
Management
and administration of ships and aircraft |
|
| |
| Procedures for Setting Up a
MOC |
| The investors must firstly obtain offshore
service permits from the IPIM before the incorporation of MOC. There
are generally 5 stages to set up a MOC in Macao: |
| 1. |
Liaison with the governing
authority (IPIM) to review the draft application documents of
MOC, mainly the application form and investment plan |
| 2 |
Upon finalization of the draft
application documents, preparation and submission of official
application documents prescribed by IPIM |
| 3 |
Assessment of the application
by IPIM |
| 4 |
Upon approval of the application
by IPIM, incorporation of the MOC |
| 5 |
Issuance of the offshore business
permit by IPIM |
|
| The MOC can operate offshore business
in Macao only after its offshore service permit issued. |
| Process time for each stage is estimated
as follows: |
| Stage
1 |
Around 2 to 3 weeks
depending on the documents and information supplied and the
complexity of the case |
| Stage
2 |
Depending on the types of application
documents and time for preparing the documents by applicant |
| Stage
3 |
Within 30 days from the submission
date of official application documents to IPIM |
| Stage
4 |
Around 3 to 4 weeks after all
required documents for incorporation and registrations submitted
to Macao Commercial Registry |
| Stage
5 |
Around few days after submission
of all required documents and payment of set up fee to IPIM |
|
| |
| Licence fees of a MOC |
| The licence fees to be charged by IPIM
are as follows: |
| |
Offshore
commercial service |
Offshore
auxiliary service |
| Set up fee upon the issuance of
offshore service permit |
MOP 5,000 |
MOP 5,000 |
| Annual operating fees (a) |
1
|
1
|
| - Registered capital of MOP25,000
– MOP100,000 |
MOP 10,000 |
MOP 6,000 |
| - Registered capital of over MOP100,000
and up to MOP1,000,000 |
MOP 20,000 |
MOP 13,000 |
| - Registered capital of MOP1,000,001
or above |
MOP 30,000 |
MOP 20,000 |
|
| (a) Annual operating fees are payable
by two instalments (50% each) at end of the six-month periods from
January to June and from July to December. |
| |
| Other Professional and Secretarial
Services for MOCs |
| We also provide professional and secretarial
services in the following areas: |
| 1. Statutory
audit in compliance with IPIM’s requirements; |
| 2. Preparation of
statutory financial reports to IPIM; |
| 3. Corporate and individual
tax planning; |
| 4. Assistance in government
regulations compliance; |
| 5. Assistance in staff
recruitment; |
| 6. Assistance in application
for employment work permit or resident permit; |
| 7. Lease of office
premises and other office facilities; |
| 8. Administration
of employees’ salaries tax and social security contributions; |
| 9. Preparation of
employer’s annual salaries tax returns, etc. |
|
Macao
Offshore Company (MOC)
(offshore service company limited liability by quota shares) |
| Type of corporation |
| - |
Offshore commercial service
company |
| - |
Offshore auxiliary service
company |
|
| Disclosure of beneficial owner |
Yes (only to the licensing authority) |
| Profit tax and business registration
tax |
Exempted |
| Company name |
| - |
Either Chinese or Portuguese,
or both |
| - |
English name applicable
only the company has Chinese and Portuguese name |
| - |
Wordings of “Macao Commercial
Offshore” or Macao Auxiliary Offshore” must be included
in company name |
|
| Availability of shelf company |
No |
| Estimated time for setting up
a MOC |
| - |
around 2 months for offshore
permit application |
| - |
around 1 month for incorporation |
|
| Share capital: |
|
| Minimum registered capital |
25,000 |
| Currency |
Macao Patacas (MOP) |
| Shareholder: |
|
| Minimum number |
1 |
| Residency requirement |
No |
| Filing requirement on change |
Yes |
| Director: |
|
| Minimum number |
1 |
| Residency requirement |
No |
| Corporate director |
Yes (but must assign individual
representative) |
| Filing requirement on change |
Yes |
| Secretary |
Optional |
|
