Establishing an Offshore company is in many ways like setting up a new computer. You can either choose a basic model or have one created with as many special features as you like so as to suit your specific needs.

To give you the greatest range of choice possible (and because for many clients it is important for legal reasons that their company is seen to be managed and controlled from offshore) we offer a range of Additional Offshore Services.

What additional services should you choose and why?

One of the great advantages of setting up a Company Offshore is that it gives you the ability to operate in an environment of maximum secrecy.

If you want to keep ownership of the Company a private matter as between yourself and your professional advisers, then you may wish to choose to install, from the outset, additional Offshore services to enhance your privacy and to make your company run as efficiently as possible.

Please note that each of the services listed below are optional extras which can be installed either at the time that you order your Offshore Company or afterwards, as needed.

Additional Offshore Services Offered include:

Nominee Professional Director
Nominee Shareholder
Mail receiving and forwarding
Fax receiving and forwarding
Invoicing and reinvoicing
Notarisation and Apostille of Company documents
Powers of Attorney
Consultancy Agreements and Sales Contracts

A Nominee Professional Director is, as the name suggests, a person appointed to act as Director of the Company but who acts only in accordance with your instructions. When we provide Nominee Professional Director services for you, as additional security, we will also provide you with: (at no extra cost to you):

	a written agreement to act on your instructions; and
	a signed but undated letter of resignation

A Nominee Shareholder is a person appointed to hold the shares in the Company for you, as your Nominee, so that your name does not have to appear on the register of shareholders stored at the Company’s Registered Office. As security to you, when appointed to act as Nominee Shareholder we will also provide you with (at no extra cost to you):

	a written Declaration of Trust acknowledging that we hold the shares on Trust for you and that we will only deal with the shares in accordance with your instructions; and
	a signed, undated share transfer allowing you to transfer the shares into your name or the name of some other Nominee whenever you like.

For some clients it makes good commercial sense for any mail addressed to the company to be sent to the Company’s registered office. As part of this service we:

	Accept the mail for you
	Notify you that a mail item has been received
	Take your instructions as to where and to whom the package is to be resent
	Repackage and forward the mail as directed

We charge an all inclusive yearly fee for this service, not per package. The cost of mail and/or freight services is billed separately and we may ask for a deposit up front to cover the cost of such services depending on the likely flow of business.




You may for privacy or commercial reasons wish to have any faxes for the company sent to the Company’s registered office, rather than to you direct. As part of this service we:

	Accept the fax for you
	Notify you that a fax has been received
	Take your instructions as to where and to whom the fax is to be resent
	Repackage and forward the fax as directed

We charge an all inclusive yearly fee for this service, not per fax. The cost of telecom/ faxline outlays is billed separately and we may ask for a deposit up front to cover the cost of such services depending on the likely flow of business.

For many Offshore Companies it is important for legal reasons that revenues be seen to be generated from, and billed from, offshore. As part of this service we:

	Receive instructions from you re who to invoice, for how much and by what method
	Prepare and forward the invoice as directed by you
	Send you a copy of the invoice as required
	Notify you when we become aware that the invoice has been paid

We charge for this service on a per invoice basis. The cost of mailing, faxing or forwarding invoices by courier (if required) is billed in addition to the price per invoice.

An Apostille is an internationally accepted method for certification of copied documents. It involves a two step process:

	Firstly the copied documents are certified as true copies by a local Notary.
	Secondly the notary’s signature is certified as true by the local Supreme Court Registry which keeps a record of the Notary’s signature.

Commonly, when opening a bank account for the company, the Bank will ask for a Notarised and Apostilled copy of the documents evidencing the Company’s registration and the identity of the Company’s initial Director and shareholder.

The Apostille process can take up to a week to complete depending on the country in which the process need be undertaken.

Often, people who set up Offshore companies need to promptly take action or sign documents on behalf of the company in furtherance of the Company’s business and legal interests (eg: where the deal in question does not allow time for the forwarding of documents for signing by the Company Director offshore). At the same time the person undertaking business on behalf of the Company may not wish to reveal his or her identity as the underlying owner of the Company.

A Power of Attorney can be useful in respect of such matters though it may need to be checked by local legal advisers as in certain instances such a document may be construed as handing control of the Company for legal purposes to persons classified as resident onshore for tax purposes. This may have tax and/or legal consequences.

For most people it is important for legal reasons that their Offshore Company be, and be seen to be, managed and controlled from offshore. The person authorised to give and receive communications might therefore be appointed as an Adviser or Consultant to the Nominee Professional Director, charged with particular areas of responsibility. By doing this the Director’s acceptance of the adviser’s instructions may be demonstrated to be actions taken in accordance with a corporate plan thereby avoiding any suggestion that the Company is just a sham company (which can have tax/and/or legal consequences). At the end of the day Professional Company Directors make decisions based on information received from the Company’s managers, consultants and professional advisers.

Similarly if the Offshore Company can fairly be said to be engaged in the sale of products delivered or sourced from Offshore you may prefer to be appointed as the Company’s local commission sales representative or consultant.

We can supply either a general Consultancy agreement or Sales agency agreement as you prefer to assist with formalizing such arrangements.

Remember if you’re not sure of what you might need our Consultants are always here to help you. We urge you to contact us should you have any queries.

Every effort has been made to ensure that the details contained herein are correct and up-to-date, but thus does not constitute legal or other professional advice. We do not accept any responsibility, legal or otherwise, for any error or omission.