Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. Shareholders and directors of a Hong Kong private company generally do not need to be Hong Kong residents. The company must have at least one natural-person director aged 18 or above and must still meet the Hong Kong registered-office and company-secretary requirements. Registry filings use a Hong Kong identity card number if the person holds one or otherwise passport particulars; a Mainland identity card alone is not the standard identification record. See the Companies Registry guidance.

The Certificate of Incorporation issued by the Companies Registry is the official evidence that the company was incorporated. You can also use e-Search Services on the Companies Registry's e-Services Portal to check current registered particulars and order company search reports, registered-document image records or a Certificate of Continuing Registration. A bank's account-opening decision is a separate customer-due-diligence decision and is not proof of incorporation. See the Companies Registry's e-Search guidance.

A Hong Kong private company generally needs at least one natural-person director aged 18 or above, at least one shareholder, a registered office in Hong Kong and a company secretary. An individual company secretary must ordinarily reside in Hong Kong; a body corporate must have its registered office or a place of business in Hong Kong. The sole director cannot also act as company secretary of the same company. Review our Hong Kong company formation, registered-address and company-secretary services; the confirmed Order controls the actual scope.

For a typical private company limited by shares:

• Choose the proposed company name and prepare incorporation Form NNC1 and the articles of association
• Submit the documents electronically through the e-Services Portal or in hard copy, together with Notice to Business Registration Office IRBR1, and pay the prescribed fees
• The Companies Registry processes company incorporation and business registration as a one-stop application
• If approved, the Companies Registry issues the Certificate of Incorporation and Business Registration Certificate together
• Complete the statutory records and other post-incorporation arrangements

The initial director, shareholder and company-secretary particulars are reported in Form NNC1 rather than appointed in a separate filing after incorporation. See the Companies Registry's incorporation guide.

For a straightforward private company limited by shares, electronic Certificates of Incorporation and Business Registration will normally be issued within 1 hour after a complete electronic submission. For a hard-copy application, the certificates are normally issued within 4 working days. A name requiring review, incomplete or complex information, client verification, payment, delivery and post-incorporation work can add time, so registry processing and the final completion date cannot be guaranteed. See the Companies Registry's incorporation FAQ.

After a successful electronic incorporation, company information is made available for public inspection through the Companies Registry's e-Services Portal. Its e-Search Services provide current registered data and image records of registered documents, and allow users to order certified copies, company search reports or a Certificate of Continuing Registration. The Business Registration Number is the Unique Business Identifier and the key search number. Actual availability and update timing depend on the Companies Registry's processing. See the official e-Search service description.

The payable amount includes the selected HKBSCL service package and the government charges itemised at checkout; the exact inclusions depend on the package and options selected. See our price list. Any optional work, additional-person service fee or third-party charge outside the confirmed scope is disclosed before payment.

No hidden HKBSCL fees are added to a confirmed order. The checkout itemises the selected service fee, any additional-person fee and government charges. For a company limited by shares, the official charges checked on 27 July 2026 are HK$1,545 for electronic incorporation and HK$2,350 for a one-year Business Registration Certificate and levy commencing between 1 April 2026 and 31 March 2027. See the Companies Registry fee table and IRD Business Registration Fee and Levy Table. Government rates may change, so the rate applicable on the filing date controls. Optional work and third-party charges outside the confirmed scope require approval before payment.

You can pay by local bank transfer, overseas wire transfer, cheque or cashier's order to the designated HKBSCL account shown in your payment instructions. Include the order reference and send the remittance record so we can match the payment. See the payment methods and account instructions, and verify any changed bank details with us before transferring funds.

You normally need valid identity documents for each director, shareholder and ultimate beneficial owner, residential-address evidence, and the proposed company name, registered office, business activities, shareholding and company-secretary details. Customer-due-diligence checks may also require evidence of the business purpose, ownership structure and source of funds. The statutory filing includes Form NNC1, articles of association and IRBR1; see the Companies Registry registration guide and our Hong Kong company formation service. We confirm the final list for the people, entities and risk profile involved; providing documents does not guarantee acceptance or incorporation.

You can collect them from our office in person, or we can mail them to your designated address.

Once the company is incorporated and any applicable business registration, licences and internal authorisations are in place, it can generally begin lawful business activities. Banks set their own account-opening and customer-due-diligence requirements, so ask the chosen bank which documents it needs and whether verification is in person or remote. Common materials may include the Certificate of Incorporation, Business Registration Certificate, articles of association, incorporation form, identity and ownership records, and evidence of the intended business. Account approval is not guaranteed. See the HKMA account-opening guidance.

The directors may set the company's accounting reference date, but the first accounting reference period must end within 18 months after incorporation. Later accounting reference periods are normally 12 months. The best year-end depends on the business cycle, group reporting and tax planning; 31 December is common but not mandatory. See the Companies Registry guidance on accounts and audit.

Generally, yes. Under the Companies Ordinance, annual financial statements normally must be audited by an appointed independent auditor, including for companies that qualify for the reporting exemption. The exception applies while a company formally qualifies as dormant under the Companies Ordinance. A private company becomes dormant only after it passes a special resolution and delivers it to the Registrar for registration; an accounting transaction ends that dormancy. HKBSCL handles accounting and tax-filing work and coordinates statutory audit arrangements with an independent auditor, but does not perform or sign the statutory audit. Tax-return obligations are separate: any return issued by the Inland Revenue Department must still be handled by its deadline. See the Companies Registry guidance on accounts and audit and dormant companies.

A Hong Kong private company normally prepares and approves a directors' report for each financial year, but does not file it separately or attach it to Form NAR1. Public companies and companies limited by guarantee generally file certified copies of the relevant financial statements, directors' report and auditor's report with their annual returns. The preparation and filing requirements therefore depend on company type; see the Companies Registry guidance on accounts and audit.

File every Profits Tax Return by the due date printed on it. The IRD generally issues a newly incorporated company's first return about 18 months after incorporation; a first return normally allows three months from issue, while an ordinary later return generally allows one month. The printed compliance date and any valid extension, including an applicable electronic-filing or tax-representative arrangement, control. A company with assessable profits may also need to notify the IRD within four months after the end of the relevant basis period instead of waiting for a return. See the IRD's 2025/26 filing arrangements, its guidance on notification of chargeability, and our corporate tax service.

Form NAR1 is a snapshot of the company's registered particulars at its return date; it does not replace the separate forms required to report changes when they occur. Except in its incorporation year, a private company normally files NAR1 within 42 days after its incorporation anniversary, even if nothing changed. A private company formally declared dormant under section 5 of the Companies Ordinance is exempt while dormant, subject to the timing rules for the year dormancy begins or ends. Late filing attracts higher fees and may lead to prosecution. See the Companies Registry annual-return FAQ.

If a company has no assessable profits for a year of assessment, it will generally have no profits tax to pay for that year. Having no profit does not by itself remove its accounting, audit or tax-return obligations, and any return issued by the Inland Revenue Department must still be filed. The audit exception applies only while a private company formally qualifies as dormant under the Companies Ordinance. For a corporation eligible for the two-tiered profits tax rates, the first HK$2 million of assessable profits is taxed at 8.25% and the remainder at 16.5%, subject to the connected-entity rules. The actual assessment depends on the company's facts, deductions and source of profits. See the IRD's Profits Tax guidance.

Under the two-tiered regime, an eligible corporation pays 8.25% on its first HK$2 million of assessable profits and 16.5% on the remainder; a corporation that is not eligible is generally taxed at 16.5%. Only one connected entity can normally elect the two-tiered rates. Rates checked on 27 July 2026. See the IRD's Profits Tax guidance.

Not automatically: the result depends on the source and nature of the profits. Hong Kong generally charges Profits Tax on business profits arising in or derived from Hong Kong, and source is determined from the profit-producing operations rather than the place of incorporation, bank account or customer alone. Foreign-sourced dividends, interest, intellectual-property income and disposal gains received in Hong Kong by an entity in a multinational group may also fall within the foreign-sourced income exemption regime unless an exception applies. Keep evidence and obtain advice for the actual transactions. See the IRD's territorial-source guide and FSIE guidance.

For 2026/27, Salaries Tax is calculated at progressive rates of 2%, 6%, 10%, 14% and 17% on successive HK$50,000 bands of net chargeable income, subject to the lower two-tiered standard-rate calculation on net income before allowances: 15% on the first HK$5 million and 16% on the remainder. Employers have separate reporting duties; the employee is generally the Salaries Tax taxpayer. Rates checked on 27 July 2026. See the IRD's Salaries Tax rate table or our individual tax services.

Hong Kong generally has no customs tariff, but excise duty applies to four categories: liquor, tobacco, certain hydrocarbon oil and methyl alcohol. Other controls, licences or taxes can also apply to particular goods, including first-registration tax for motor vehicles. An accurate import or export declaration must normally be lodged electronically within 14 days for non-exempt articles, with any applicable declaration charge. See Hong Kong Customs guidance on dutiable commodities and the Census and Statistics Department's declaration FAQ.

No tax is charged merely for incorporating a company. This is separate from the mandatory government charges added at checkout: HK$1,545 for electronic incorporation and HK$2,350 for the one-year Business Registration Certificate fee and levy, currently HK$3,895 in total. Government charges can change; see the current formation pricing before ordering.

No government department produces an ordinary company's invoices or receipts. The business creates and issues them, keeps sufficient transaction records, and includes any details required by its contracts, payment arrangements or sector-specific rules. A company chop and signature are not general legal conditions that automatically make an invoice valid. See the IRD's record-keeping guidance.

We can handle accounting and tax filing directly, and coordinate audit arrangements with an independent auditor. You only need to provide the information to us. Fees are determined based on the actual workload, and we only begin after both parties agree on the fee amount. We will not charge you without your prior consent.

Every Hong Kong company must have a company secretary. An individual company secretary must ordinarily reside in Hong Kong; a body corporate must have its registered office or a place of business in Hong Kong. The sole director of a company cannot also act as company secretary of the same company. Company-secretarial duties include maintaining required company records and coordinating filings, minutes and resolutions within the agreed service scope. Review our company-secretary service for the included annual work and exclusions.

Yes, every Hong Kong-incorporated company other than a listed company must identify its significant controllers, keep an up-to-date Significant Controllers Register at its registered office or another reported place in Hong Kong, and appoint at least one eligible designated representative. The register is not filed with the Companies Registry, but it must be available to specified law-enforcement officers on demand. See the Companies Registry SCR FAQ.

Yes. Approve the change under the company's articles, ensure the replacement meets the Hong Kong eligibility requirements, update the statutory records and deliver Form ND2A to the Companies Registry within 15 days after the appointment or cessation. See the Companies Registry filing guidance.

Incorporation alone does not authorise every business activity. Before trading, confirm that the Business Registration Certificate is current, obtain any licences or permits required for the activity or premises, complete internal authorisations, arrange banking and payment controls, and meet employment, tax, import/export and sector-specific rules that apply. Use GovHK's Business Licence Information Service to check licensing requirements.

Hong Kong banks conduct customer due diligence and set their own account-opening requirements. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority does not require two or more, or all, directors or beneficial owners to be physically present. Ask the chosen bank whether it uses a branch meeting, video call or another verification method, and what identity, ownership, authorisation, business-purpose, expected-activity and source-of-funds evidence it requires. The bank decides each application and may request more information. HKBSCL can help compare published requirements and prepare documents through our bank-account opening support, but cannot guarantee approval. See the HKMA account-opening guidance.

No, Hong Kong law does not generally require a company chop for ordinary business documents. A company may use one if a bank, counterparty or internal policy requests it, but the chop alone does not prove authorisation or make an invoice, receipt or contract legally effective. Follow the signing and approval requirements for the specific document; section 124 of the Companies Ordinance says a company may have a common seal.