Annual renewal and then strike-off completed for Hong Kong company

Since 2003, Healy Consultants Group assists our multinational Clients with the full cycle of Hong Kong business set up services.

In this case, our Client approached us to complete i) the annual renewal of their Hong Kong company and ii) the strike off of their Hong Kong company from the register. The company was incorporated in Hong Kong in April 2019 to offer money remittance solutions. However, at the outset of this renewal engagement, the Client confirmed that the company is dormant.

• Engagement planning

  • In February 2021, Healy Consultants Group’s Group Financial Controller Sharon emailed our Client a renewal invoice that included i) annual Hong Kong accounting and tax services and ii) our annual Hong Kong company renewal fees.
  • Within two weeks of the above, our Client settled the invoice and I was assigned to the engagement.
  • I sent the Client a detailed email including i) an overview of the Hong Kong renewal project plan ii) key engagement milestones and iii) important government deadlines related to company renewal and accounting and tax.

• Hong Kong accounting and tax obligations

  • To prepare a financial statement and submit profit tax returns (PTR) for the company, I requested the Client to provide i) trial balance in an Excel file and ii) bank statements or iii) confirmation in writing that the entity was dormant during the financial period in question.
  • Following a written confirmation from our Client that the company was dormant since incorporation, I prepared draft financial statements and a tax computation for FY2020 and sent it to my Client for review. Then, it was reviewed and approved by our business owner Aidan Healy for quality control purposes.
  • Once the financial statements draft had been approved by the Client, I sent the final version to them via HelloSign for e-signature. Subsequently, I submitted the i) PTR and renewed the business registration license with the Hong Kong IRD and ii) submitted the legal annual return to Hong Kong Companies Registry.
  • The entity has zero corporate tax payable in Hong Kong, and I submitted the profit tax returns to IRD within one week after I received the signed financial report from Client. Thereafter, I sent the acknowledgment of annual return, updated business registration certificate and the acknowledgment of PTR submission to the Client.
  • We notified our Client once we had completed the company’s accounting and tax obligations. The Client reverted to us to request us to strike off the company, given that it conducts no business and has not operated since it was incorporated.

• Hong Kong company deregistration

  • Our Financial Controller, Sharon sent my Client an updated renewal invoice, including our standard Hong Kong company deregistration fees of US$2,450.
  • I then sent my Client a detailed deregistration engagement plan, outlining i) steps to strike off the company and ii) timeframes to complete the deregistration engagement.
  • Once my Client had settled the additional deregistration fees, I prepared another financial statement covering the period until cessation of the business for review and signatures.
  • Subsequently, I confirmed with a Hong Kong IRD officer via phone that my Client’s company had no outstanding tax returns.
  • Once this was confirmed, I completed and submitted a Notice of No Objection application, together with the government fee of HK$270, to the IRD. The Notice, which confirms that the IRD has no objection to the company being deregistered, was issued two months after the application was submitted.
  • I then submitted the final deregistration application NDR1 form to the Hong Kong Company Registry. Three weeks after that, the government sent us an acknowledgment of receipt of the striking off application.
  • The application for the company’s deregistration was submitted in January 2022. We anticipate the company being officially struck off the Hong Kong Company Register within five months.

• Engagement completion

  • We sent our Client confirmation of engagement completion together with the summary of obligations, which includes i) proof of statutory filings such as filed annual return and business registration renewals ii) Notice of No Objection received from IRD and iii) the deregistration acknowledgment received from Company Registry, for my Client’s records.
  • Our Business Website Department has also requested a written professional reference and an online review from our Client.