If you are running a business in Hong Kong that has come to a standstill, when it hasn’t conducted business or any revenue for a while, you might want to de-register. Keeping in view that it does not have any debts or liabilities to fill for, there are chances that you can deregister the company.
Closing a business in Hong Kong includes quite a few orderly steps, and the overall process takes some months to get completed. The cost of the process depends on the manner in which the company is closed, which is the reason to think carefully about it and consider it accordingly.
Sometimes it is sensible to shut down a company, but a person should avoid it unless it is completely necessary. The reason due to which a company can be shut down in Hong Kong are:
The process of deregistering a company in Hong Kong is termed as ‘liquidation’ in conventional terms. There are two methods of closing a company, the first is Winding up and the second stands the Deregistration process. Even though both the processes lead to the closing of the company, the processes of both companies are different.
Before we explain the deregistration process, it is vital to know the difference between winding up of a company in Hong Kong and deregistering it. Deregistration is a simple, inexpensive and quick method comparative to winding up. But for this to happen, the company has to meet specific requirements for this to happen.
On the other hand, winding up is the method of designating a liquidator who would settle all the accounts by paying off the company’s debts, if there is any. The person is in charge of liquidating the assets of the business and distributing the surplus assets, if there is any, after making sure that the firm is completely dissolved. The process is much more complicated than de-registration and requires more steps and parties to be involved. It results in a longer process and higher costs of the company.
Since deregistration is a relatively simpler and easy process, it is preferred by more people in Hong Kong. With the best experts in the industry and the knowledge on how the government operates, we can help you in the process if you decide to hire us. Though the process is not too complicated, it is not easy to deregister the business easily.
You can close the business as you de-register it with just two steps, only if you meet the requirements stated by the Hong Kong government.
Any business in HK that is a local limited company or a local private company by guarantee is qualified to de-register itself. Also, there are companies that have to be listed in the Companies Ordinance under section 749(2) or registered under Part XI of the Companies Ordinance. It also needs to be a company that is a defunct solvent business.
“Defunct” means a company that is no longer a functional company and “solvent” is when the company does not have any debts or liabilities and can be dissolved or get closed easily. In short, the company needs to be clear from any debts and legal issues along with the fact that it is no longer operating.
Any HK business that wants to get deregistered has to meet the following requirements and conditions:
To deregister a company in HK, you need to submit the necessary forms to the Registrar of Companies. This a necessary step to be taken after you receive the “Notice of No Objection.” the notice of no objection and the needed fees should be submitted along with the form.
Our company will assist you at every step and will provide all the necessary guidance for deregistering the company.
Some other points are also kept in mind if you are about to move ahead and deregister the company in Hong Kong.
If you are eligible for the deregistration of the company, you can go ahead with the steps. As mentioned above there are 2 steps of deregistering the company which is:
In this process, the company needs to get the notice which has been written by the Inland Revenue Department. This required filing the form IR1263 and submitting it along with the fees to the Inland Revenue’s Commissioner. This fee is a non-refundable fee regardless of the outcome of the situation and application.
Once the company has received the “Notice of No Objection” from the IRD, you then need to fill in the form with the application for deregistration and send it to the registrar of companies. The fee structure of processes are as follows:
Once the company receives the “Notice of No Objection” letter from the IRD, the company can proceed with deregistering the company in the company gazette. Along with it, the following has to be submitted to the Company Registry:
With the documents in place, the company can submit it to CR the final steps of deregistration include:
De-registration of the company in Hong Kong needs the essentials know-how and compliance with various statutory obligations. Hence you are strongly recommended to engage the services of a professional firm like our company that can render you with the appropriate guidance and timely assistance for the deregistration of your Hong Kong company.