Over a decade ago, the government of Dominica recognized the potential economic value of offshore services to the country.  Since, Dominica’s offshore legislation has made provisions for a wide range of Dominica offshore services and Dominica offshore products to be licensed and registered in its jurisdiction.  The objective of the government of Dominica is to develop and grow the Dominica offshore sector into an economically viable source of revenue for the country.  The government of Dominica achieves this through the ongoing formation, development and support of an investor friendly climate with tax free benefits and investor appealing legislation that supports the investor’s interest.

The offshore services or products offered in Dominica are defined by the legislative arm of country or the jurisdiction in which the company operates.  In Dominica, the legally mandated offshore services and products are:

1.     1. International Business Company IBCs  (formation and registrations)

a.     Bank Accounts

b.     Shelf Companies

2.     2. Exempt Insurance (registrations)

3.     3. International Exempt Trust (Offshore trust) (registrations)

4.     4. Offshore Banking (licensing)

5.     5. Offshore Gambling or Internet Gaming Licensing (licensing)

6.     6. Economic Citizenship (processing and naturalization)

a.     Citizenship

b.     2^nd Passports

As a result there are several offshore administrative, processing and management services arising from these activities necessary to establish and maintain the offshore business.  The primary offshore services offered in Dominica are:

• company formation and registration
• company licensing
• application processing

The supplemental or management services required to maintain and enhance the confidentiality and functionality of the offshore company profile include:

• renewal of licenses
• provision of registered address and registered agent for the offshore company
• maintenance of corporate documents and registers

The objective of these additional offshore services is to keep the company in legal health or in good standing.  Where it is required by law, or expressed wishes of the beneficiary, the offshore service provider may provide administrative services such as:

• upkeep and update records of the company
• prepare and file  mandatory reports and returns
• make bank introductions and assist with bank account application processing
• conduct and attend meetings
• provide virtual offshore secretarial services- fax and answering services, email services
• document holding and forwarding services
• provisions of nominee shareholder, director
• Power of Attorney
• Certificate of Good Standing, Notarization  and Apostille of documents, Translator services
• rubber stamp and Corporate Seal provisions
• by-law preparation, minutes preparation
• Dissolution or Liquidation of Business

In Dominica, the offshore activities such as Internet Gambling or Gaming licenses, Exempt Trust, Exempt Insurance, Offshore Banking and Dominica Economic Citizenship are more complex offshore services and the application criteria is more detailed and time consuming.

Some offshore agents offer legal and tax consultation as a service, but generally Agents do not provide legal or tax advice as a service and prefer to exclude such services and provide only the administrative and management services for offshore companies.

The licensed offshore service providers or Agents are the proper government endorsed companies who can offer the range of offshore services.  The scope of Dominican offshore service providers comes in all shapes and sizes, there are small one man “specialized” operators, and there are larger “universal” agents. Some offer very basic services such as International Business Company (IBC) formation, registration and their supplementary services, where as others offer comprehensive list of offshore services and products.  The main difference between the two is that the specialized agents deal with one jurisdiction and the agent office is situated on that state; they offer limited offshore services whereas universal providers offer a wide range of offshore products and services for multi-jurisdictions (and have the necessary infrastructure in place to competently manage the services offered).

Offshore businesses are used for two main purposes, the first, asset protection and confidentiality and the second, tax minimization, deferment or prevention, each reason being quite independent of the other, but often overlap and complement each other.  The advantages of using a Dominican Offshore companies is (i) zero taxation on revenue, capital gains, or profit; (ii)flexibility in corporate structure- no paid up capital, minimum director and shareholder, no secretary required, speedy incorporation; (iii) administrative flexibility-meeting can be held off island, minimal reporting requirements, no auditing requirements.