Renewal fees

[Shlomo]

Hi,

I see many companies such as Offshorecorpgroup require a renewal fee for what they call "keeping the company in good standing", and I cannot help but keep wondering if this is a genuine fee, or if this is just a way for the company to continuously get money from the client? Similar to when you buy an electric toothbrush it might be cheap, but for years you pay for expensive toothbrushes which fit that model, instead of the regular cheap toothbrushes.

I understand genuine such fees exist in some jurisdictions for providing certain services, such as keeping a registered office for your company, but "keeping a company in good standing" does sound very off to me. Can someone knowledgeable please explain?

 

[James Turner]

The vast majority of offshore companies require a Registered Agent & Registered Office in the jurisdiction of formation. There may also be statutory requirements such as filing documents or information locally, maintaining registers etc, settling local Gov't fees etc. All of this amounts to keeping the company in good standing and is legitimately charged for by the agent you choose.

 

[Suzy Emerald]

Your company needs to be in good standing and is legitimately charged. Your bank will probably ask for this certificate also called COGS every year and probably needs to be apostilled as well which costs extra. Agents can abuse on how much they charge for getting this certifcate for you.

 

[Spinat]

Hi,

I see many companies such as Offshorecorpgroup require a renewal fee for what they call "keeping the company in good standing", and I cannot help but keep wondering if this is a genuine fee, or if this is just a way for the company to continuously get money from the client? Similar to when you buy an electric toothbrush it might be cheap, but for years you pay for expensive toothbrushes which fit that model, instead of the regular cheap toothbrushes.

I understand genuine such fees exist in some jurisdictions for providing certain services, such as keeping a registered office for your company, but "keeping a company in good standing" does sound very off to me. Can someone knowledgeable please explain?

What's the problem with this? You buy a service from an agent, you pay them to keep the company in Good standing which means you use their office address for the company to be registered and they pay the govertnement fees that all offshore jurisdictions charge! That's something you have to pay for!

hmmm, really don't understand what's here not to understand

 

[Shlomo]

What's the problem with this? You buy a service from an agent, you pay them to keep the company in Good standing which means you use their office address for the company to be registered and they pay the govertnement fees that all offshore jurisdictions charge! That's something you have to pay for!

hmmm, really don't understand what's here not to understand

I understand there are legitimate fees when you buy the services of such an agent, but they do not specify what you pay for, instead they phrase it as "good standing". Always when I heard such phrasing before it was a reoccurring fee to keep a continuous income stream, like electric toothbrush manufacturers do, or if I heard a government employee say they need a regular fee to keep me (my company) in good standing, I would think it a bribe. So to the contrary, I find it strange someone would not wonder what someone is asking money for when they say they will keep you in good standing.

 

[Spinat]

Well, usually you see the fee you have to pay each year when you order the company, if not, it's too bad! I know for sure the guys you mentioned above show this when you ask for a propotiol! Never really thought about it before

 

[Suzy Emerald]

The renewal is not something made up by the agent. The COGS is a paper internationally required by banks, issued by jurisdictions. I pay 200 usd each year for my COGS, apostille and fedex fee to my bank on the other side of the world. Not too bad I think. You can agree with it or not but you have no choice so discussing it will not lead anywhere.

 

[Shlomo]

It is good that one is informed later in the process what those fees are, but when I glanced at the information available and it mentioned annual fees for keeping a company in good standing and not elaborating further, then immediately I started to wonder what these fees are. That is when I came here to ask about it?

Of course it is understandable that there would be a fee associated with getting an apostille and Fedex fees and such things. It made me wonder though if such fees that are not immediately clear might make jurisdictions that seemingly cheap to be the cheapest actually be a more expensive choice than others which might seem more expensive at first.

 

[Suzy Emerald]

I agree with you. That is why you should look at start up costs and more important look at maintenance costs.Same you would do when buying a car or a house. Fees differ between jurisdictions and more important they differ greatly between agents. Most agents have on their website the renewal costs else just ask.

 

[fanban]

Maintainance costs for Belize, St. Kitts and Seychelles are very low and cheap nothing to worry about! I ordered a setup in all 3 jurisdictions and satisfied.