Business
Companies Act with a separate Nevis corporate regime
The federal Companies Act governs domestic companies on the CARICOM model, administered by the Registrar of Companies in Basseterre. Nevis has its own corporate law under the Nevis Business Corporation Ordinance and the Nevis Limited Liability Company Ordinance, administered by the Nevis Financial Services Regulation and Supervision Department. The Nevis International Exempt Trust Ordinance underpins a well-known asset protection trust regime.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — Federal Companies Act for Saint Kitts; separate Nevis ordinances for Nevis entities
- Deadline — Annual return: filed each year with the relevant registry
- Deadline — Nevis entity annual fee: due on the anniversary of incorporation
- Deadline — Change of registered agent: notice filed with the Nevis registry
Governing law
- Companies Actfederal
- Nevis Business Corporation Ordinance 1984
- Nevis Limited Liability Company Ordinance 1995
- Nevis International Exempt Trust Ordinance 1994
In practice
Nevis is the commercially important half of this topic: the Nevis LLC and international exempt trust are used worldwide for asset protection because the ordinances impose short limitation periods for challenging transfers and require creditors to litigate in Nevis. Nothing about the federal Companies Act tells you how a Nevis LLC works, and conflating the two is the standard error.