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Do Seychelles Companies File Tax Returns? When an IBC Must
A Seychelles IBC with no Seychelles income files no tax return. Who must file by 31 March, the TIN change of August 2026 and the late-filing penalties.
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Whether a Seychelles IBC files a Seychelles tax return depends on where the company earns its income and who owns it. In this post, we’ll walk you through which companies file, the deadline, what changed for TINs in August 2026, late-filing penalties, and how a tax return differs from an IBC’s company law duties.
Quick Summary
Under Seychelles Revenue Commission guidance, an IBC with no activity or income in Seychelles files no business tax return.
An IBC with Seychelles-source income registers with the Revenue Commission within 28 days of starting business and files every year by 31 March for a calendar year, NIL returns included.
The Revenue Commission’s Schedule 3 return form expects an IBC in a multinational group to file, though the Act does not say so in terms.
Since 21 August 2026, the SRC has stopped issuing new TINs to IBCs not operating in Seychelles that want one only for bank purposes, while tax residency certificates are still issued for SCR 400.
A late return costs from SCR 500 plus SCR 50 a week, and late tax adds 10% plus interest.
Every IBC also keeps accounting records and lodges a copy of any held abroad at least twice a year, a company law duty separate from any tax return.
Which Seychelles Companies File a Tax Return
Two questions decide it: does the company earn Seychelles income, and is it in a multinational group?
Company | Files a Seychelles tax return? | Basis |
|---|---|---|
IBC with no activity or income in Seychelles, not in a multinational group | No | SRC guidance for IBCs |
IBC with Seychelles-source income | Yes, every year, even with no tax to pay | Business Tax Act s.57 |
IBC in a multinational group | Expected to, on the Schedule 3 return | SRC return form, not an express rule in the Act |
Company registered under the Companies Act 1972 | Yes, every year, NIL return included | Business Tax Act s.57 |
This follows the basic rule of Seychelles company tax: business tax falls on income from sources in Seychelles, and a return is due from a business liable to it (sections 11 and 57 of the Business Tax Act 2009). Outside a multinational group, that means income from activities conducted, goods situated or rights used in Seychelles (section 5(1), as rewritten in 2021).
The Seychelles Revenue Commission (SRC) applies this in its guidance for IBCs: an IBC with no activity or income in Seychelles has no obligation to file a business tax return, even if it holds a TIN. That answer is SRC guidance, not an exemption written into the Act.
Seychelles Tax Return Deadline
A business tax return is due within three months after the tax year ends, so 31 March for a calendar year, and any tax owed is payable by the same date (sections 57(1) and 59). A return is required whatever the liability or loss (section 57(3) and the SRC’s FAQ), so a business that did not trade still lodges a NIL return.
The SRC’s Commissioner General can extend the time to file (section 5 of the Revenue Administration Act 2009). Returns lodged through an approved Tax Agent Lodgment Program are due later: 31 July for companies with taxable supplies, 31 October for taxpayers with non-taxable supplies (SRC tax system page).
Does a Seychelles IBC Need a TIN?
A Tax Identification Number (TIN) follows a tax liability: the Commissioner General can require persons liable for tax to apply for one (section 35 of the Revenue Administration Act). IBCs without Seychelles income could still apply, for example to satisfy a bank. The SRC’s notice of 21 August 2026 changed that:
no new TINs for IBCs not operating in Seychelles that want one for bank purposes only
TINs still go to IBCs with Seychelles-source income and to IBCs in a multinational group
no end date, and nothing on TINs already issued
An application must name the company’s corporate service provider, and only the provider can apply online. A struck-off IBC must apply to cancel its TIN within 30 days of being struck off (section 36(1)).
Tax residency certificates are a separate document: the SRC still issues them to IBCs on written request, including for bank purposes, for SCR 400, and the application form asks for a TIN only where one exists.
IBCs With Seychelles Income
Once an IBC earns Seychelles-source income, such as fees for services performed in Seychelles or rent from property there (section 5(3) of the Business Tax Act), three duties follow:
Register with the SRC within 28 days of starting business, on the standard company registration form (regulation 3 of SI 138 of 2022).
Notify the Registrar in writing within one month of first earning assessable income and file an Annual Return within one year, on penalty of up to US$10,000 (section 361 of the IBC Act).
File the business tax return within three months of each year end, including years with no income.
IBCs in a Multinational Group
An IBC is in a multinational group when its group has enterprises tax-resident in two or more jurisdictions, or a permanent establishment abroad (SI 79 of 2021). Since mid-September 2021, such an IBC is taxed in Seychelles on income from activities abroad not earned through a foreign permanent establishment, and on foreign interest, dividends, royalties, rents and share gains unless it meets the economic substance requirements.
Its return is Schedule 3, the form for large, multinational and group businesses that the SRC’s January 2025 notice tells them to use. Section C, for qualifying companies under the substance rules, asks whether income came from activities, goods or rights in Seychelles, sends any that did not to a schedule of non-taxable business income, and asks for proof of any permanent establishment abroad.
No section of the Act says in terms that a group company with only foreign income must file; the expectation rests on the SRC’s form and notice.
Tax Returns vs FSA Filings
IBC Act duties run separately from tax, and most are kept at the registered office rather than filed with the FSA.
Filing | Who | Where it goes | When |
|---|---|---|---|
Business tax return | IBCs with Seychelles income or in a multinational group, Companies Act companies | The SRC | 31 March for a calendar year |
Accounting records | Every IBC keeping its records outside Seychelles | A copy lodged at the registered office | By the end of July and the end of January |
Annual financial summary | Every IBC except a holding company with turnover of SCR 50 million or less | Kept at the registered office, not filed | Within 6 months of the year end |
Annual return | None, except an IBC with Seychelles income | The Registrar | Within one year of its first Seychelles income |
Every IBC keeps accounting records that explain its transactions, for 7 years from each transaction, whether or not it owes tax (sections 174 and 175 of the IBC Act). Copies of records held abroad are due by the end of July for January to June and by the end of January for July to December (FSA Circular No. 9 of 2021).
Together with the annual government fee and the yearly beneficial ownership review, the records and summary duties form the annual compliance calendar of a standard IBC.
Penalties for Late Tax Returns
Late-filing penalties under the Revenue Administration Act scale with annual turnover.
Default | Penalty | Section |
|---|---|---|
Late return, turnover under SCR 1 million | SCR 500 plus SCR 50 a week or part week | s.42(1) |
Late return, turnover of SCR 1 million to SCR 50 million | SCR 1,000 plus SCR 100 a week | s.42(1) |
Late return, turnover over SCR 50 million | SCR 5,000 plus SCR 500 a week | s.42(1) |
Tax paid late | Additional tax of 10% of the unpaid amount | s.44(2) |
Interest on unpaid tax | Central Bank of Seychelles prime lending rate plus 3 points | s.41 |
No return, leading to a default assessment | Additional tax of 75% of the tax assessed | s.44A |
The 75% charge was added in 2015. The Commissioner General can remit additional tax for late filing or late payment in whole or in part (section 45(6)).
Returns go in on time when the books behind them are current, which our accounting and bookkeeping service handles from US$350 a year.
Filings in Your Home Country
Your home country may require its own reporting on a foreign company, and may tax that company’s income under its CFC rules.
FAQ
What is a TIN in Seychelles?
It is the Tax Identification Number the SRC gives to taxpayers, free of charge and one per entity. Since 21 August 2026, the SRC has stopped issuing new TINs to IBCs not operating in Seychelles that want one only for bank purposes, and still issues them to IBCs with Seychelles-source income or in a multinational group. Under SRC guidance, a TIN does not by itself create a duty for an IBC to file a return.
Can my IBC keep a TIN it already has?
The SRC has not said: its August 2026 notice covers only new TINs. The SRC can cancel a TIN once satisfied that a person has ceased to be a taxpayer (section 36(2) of the Revenue Administration Act), and its IBC guidance says a TIN is deactivated after 12 months or more out of good standing.
Does a Seychelles IBC file accounts with the FSA?
Not as a rule. The annual financial summary is kept at the registered office, and filing financial statements with the Registrar is optional (sections 175 and 350 of the IBC Act). The only Annual Return is the section 361 one for an IBC with Seychelles income.
Do offshore companies file taxes at all?
Some do, and not always where they were formed. Under SRC guidance, an IBC with only foreign income and no group ties files no Seychelles return, though its owners may have to report it at home.
