BVI FSC Amends Financial Return Orders for Filings From 2027

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On 2 November 2026, the BVI Financial Services Commission (FSC) published two statutory orders amending the BVI financial annual return regime for business companies and limited partnerships. The orders took effect the same day. The changes apply to returns that must be filed from 2027 onwards.

The new forms require far more detail on assets, revenue and expenses. The FSC expects to publish guidance on completing them on its website by 6 November 2026.

What the FSC published

• BVI Business Companies (Financial Return) (Amendment) Order, 2026 (S.I. 2026 No. 71), which replaces the Schedule to the 2023 Order.
• Limited Partnership (Financial Return) (Amendment) Order, 2026 (S.I. 2026 No. 72), which replaces the Schedule to the 2025 Order.

Both orders were gazetted on 30 October 2026. The FSC announced them in Industry Circular 29 of 2026.

What changed for companies

The company return is still a balance sheet and an income statement, but assets now fall under six headings, and most must be listed and valued by type:

• Cash and cash equivalents: each type held, plus the name and jurisdiction of any bank or institution holding it.
• Loans and receivables: details of each loan and receivable, valued by type, where together they make up 25% or more of total assets.
• Investments and other financial assets: for example shares, bonds, mutual funds, REITs, derivatives and virtual assets.
• Tangible fixed assets: for example property, machinery, vehicles, furniture and equipment.
• Intangible assets: for example intellectual property, goodwill and software.
• Other assets: anything that does not fit the headings above.

Revenue and operating expenses must also be split into categories, with a value for each item. The categories depend on what the company does.

What changed for limited partnerships

The limited partnership return uses the same asset headings, with trade and other receivables in place of loans and receivables. Liabilities are split into trade and other payables, borrowings and other liabilities. The income statement adds lines for unrealised and realised gains or losses, interest income and interest expense, and shows net income both before and after interest.

Which filings the changes affect

The FSC says the changes apply to returns that “must be filed/submitted from 2027 onwards”. The test therefore appears to be the filing date, not the financial year. Returns are due within nine months of the financial year end, so a company with a 31 December 2026 year end would file on the new form by 30 September 2027.

A company with an earlier 2026 year end and a filing date in 2027 also appears to be caught, which would mean reporting a year that has already closed in the new format. The FSC’s guidance should confirm this.

How to prepare for the new form

• List every bank and institution holding cash for the entity, with its jurisdiction.
• Check whether loans and receivables reach 25% of total assets. Holding and financing companies with intra-group balances are the most likely to pass this level.
• Make sure bookkeeping can produce the asset, revenue and expense categories at year end, including any virtual assets.
• Ask your registered agent what it needs from you and when, as returns are filed with the agent.

The orders replace only the form of the return. For filing deadlines, exemptions and penalties, see our complete guide to the BVI financial annual return.