Need Advice - Not closing company properly in HK

[simpledimple]

So i have this company formation package with OneIBC in Hong kong for 3 months ive been asking them to close the company for me and got ghosted completely - today i got an email from them saying im late on my tax returns and there are tons of penalties (around 2500 USD) and if i dont pay them the HK government would follow some kind of legal way to get that money out of me with fines racking up to 10k HKD thats around another 2k.

They also suggested that in order to close the company i have to renew it again.

I'm thinking of completely ignoring them at this point because it all seems like a a scare tactic to get more money out of me

Can anyone give me some advice regarding this matter?
Whats the worst that can happen if i just ignore this - not file any returns and not renew the company.

 

[fshore]

You should ressign as a director, as you as a director are responsible for doing all what's required

 

[simpledimple]

You should ressign as a director, as you as a director are responsible for doing all what's required

who should i send my resignation to exactly? OneIBC guys are dead set on making me pay exaggerated amounts of money.

 

[fshore]

Your registered agent/company secretary should take care of this.

 

[GiGoGo]

They don't report if they are not asked, but if they want to investigate you, they are open books

 

[Martin Everson]

and if i dont pay them the HK government would follow some kind of legal way to get that money out of me with fines racking up to 10k HKD thats around another 2k.

Tell them to get lost I would say but best to just work with them to resolve issue. The worst that could happen is the authorities will issue a compulsory winding up order via courts once debts rack up to 10k+ from fines etc. However your name will be on record somewhere and perhaps others will be able to see the court judgement against you as director.

 

[simpledimple]

Tell them to get lost I would say but best to just work with them to resolve issue. The worst that could happen is the authorities will issue a compulsory winding up order via courts once debts rack up to 10k+ from fines etc. However your name will be on record somewhere and perhaps others will be able to see the court judgement against you as director.

Well im not paying them a single cent but i guess i can ask them nicely to give me a solution

 

[neweraoffshore]

I also had a company with them once. I ran through the same process as you, hahah.
Just file NDR1 and call the IRD, they speak english and are quite easy to talk with. They will tell you what they need, if you filled for offshore status then it is even easier. When I closed my company I just had to file NDR1, not even annual outstanding report (altogh they say it's necessar on the gov.hk page). Just make sure that you don't have any outstanding liabilities.
If you got a nominee... I guess you got Allex from Belize, then just copy his signature... because they do the same. Just look at all the signed docs you got from OneIBC, all signatures are perfectly the same.

I don't remember everything for 100% but it was quite cheap, deregistartion was something below 100 USD as far as I remember.

But you should really close down the company the proper way in my opinion, I guess HK is really into collecting these fines.

 

[simpledimple]

I also had a company with them once. I ran through the same process as you, hahah.
Just file NDR1 and call the IRD, they speak english and are quite easy to talk with. They will tell you what they need, if you filled for offshore status then it is even easier. When I closed my company I just had to file NDR1, not even annual outstanding report (altogh they say it's necessar on the gov.hk page). Just make sure that you don't have any outstanding liabilities.
If you got a nominee... I guess you got Allex from Belize, then just copy his signature... because they do the same. Just look at all the signed docs you got from OneIBC, all signatures are perfectly the same.

I don't remember everything for 100% but it was quite cheap, deregistartion was something below 100 USD as far as I remember.

But you should really close down the company the proper way in my opinion, I guess HK is really into collecting these fines.

They kind of blocked my way of filing an NDR1 :

According to Hong Kong government regulations, if you would like to close your company, you have to renew your company first. After renewing your company, we will have a new Business Registration Number. CR Hong Kong only accepts New BR No for the closing process. => Your company did renew for the year 2018. For the year 2019, you need to renew BRC during the Closing Process.


Secondly, handling Profit Tax Return and Employer's Return which was issued by the government. => Currently is Employer's Return 2018/19 and Profit Tax Return 2018/19, you did not submit Employer's Return 2018/19 and Profit Tax Return 2018/19 to IRD on time, then you must fulfill them all and pay the penalty fee.


Thirdly, after completing these duties above, your company is allowed to be closed properly. The procedure as follows:

1. Submit form IR1263 to IRD and wait for their feedback the letter no objection ( may take 4 - 6 months).
2. Submit form NDR1 to CR together the letter no objection (may take 4 - 6 months) and wait for the notice to inform the successful close company.

So, I would like to inform the fee for your case including:

• File Annual Return 2019: USD 545
• Employer's Return 2018/19: USD 200
• Late penalty Fee Employer's Return 2018/19: USD 425
• Profit Tax return 2018/19 - Nil: USD 300
• Late penalty Fee Profit Tax return 2018/19: USD 250
• The closing fee: USD 499

Total: USD 2,219

Can i call the IRD directly and see what i can do?

 

[neweraoffshore]

Yes of course you can call IRD. I did the same. Because I also didn't believe what OneIBC told me.

 

[Martin Everson]

Well im not paying them a single cent but i guess i can ask them nicely to give me a solution

Sounds like they got you on procedure judging by the reply they sent you. Doesn't sound like they are being unprofessional. Maybe the ghosting was not the best thing for them to do but there's not much there you can argue with in that billing. I guess IRD call is an option but what do you want them to do exactly?