1. Purpose
This procedure explains how the Group should assess, apply for, maintain, change, renew, suspend, or close TCI business licences and related corporate compliance arrangements.
It is intended to stop accidental unlicensed trading, incorrect licence categories, unsuitable local structures, missed renewals, inaccurate particulars, unauthorised representatives, and corporate filings that do not match the real activity.
2. When This Procedure Applies
This procedure applies before the Group trades, advertises, invoices, stores goods, occupies premises, appoints a local representative, hires or places workers, imports goods for resale, provides services, operates a local website or booking channel, manages property, runs tourism activity, or carries on any business in or from within TCI.
It also applies to changes in activity, ownership, directors, beneficial ownership, premises, trading name, registered office, local contact, business category, branch activity, tax registration, or regulated sector status.
3. Pre-Activity Screening
Before activity starts, the responsible person must identify:
- The exact product, service, trading activity, or role to be carried on in or from TCI
- The island, address, online channel, marketplace, warehouse, port, client site, or premises involved
- Whether the Group, a subsidiary, a local company, a foreign company, an agent, or a partner will trade
- Whether the activity is general, reserved, restricted, exclusive, sector-regulated, or subject to a moratorium
- Whether a separate permit, tourism licence, accommodation licence, customs approval, agriculture permit, work permit, or professional licence is needed
4. No Trading Before Authority Is Clear
No person may start TCI trading merely because a UK company exists, a domain is live, a marketplace account is active, a local contact has agreed informally, a property owner has granted access, or a supplier wants sales to begin.
Taking deposits, signing local customer contracts, issuing local invoices, displaying goods for sale, making public claims of local approval, hiring staff, importing stock, or operating from premises should wait until the licence and corporate position is clear.
5. Business Licence Requirement
Individuals and corporations wishing to engage in business activities in or from within TCI generally require a Business Licence, unless a specific exemption or separate regulated regime applies. Banks, insurance providers, company managers, agents, and other regulated businesses may be subject to separate Financial Services Commission or sector requirements.
Where several distinct activities are carried on, the Group must assess whether each activity needs its own licence category. A licence is tied to the particulars submitted, is not transferable to another person or entity, and must not be used for activity outside its approved scope.
6. Licence Classification and Ownership Review
Before applying, the activity must be matched to the correct TCI licence category and prescribed activity. The review should consider whether the activity is general, reserved for Turks and Caicos Islanders, restricted, exclusive, subject to TCI Islander ownership thresholds, or subject to Cabinet or Ministry review.
Where proof of TCI Islander status, local ownership, a National Status Card, a summary business plan, Cabinet consideration, or a specialist approval is required, the Group must not submit an application until the position is accurate and supportable.
Fronting, artificial ownership, side agreements, hidden control, undocumented investor arrangements, or false statements about who owns or controls the business are prohibited.
7. Application Pack
A TCI Business Licence application may require a web account, prescribed application forms, SIGTAS or tax registration information, clearance documents, legal structure details, ownership details, certificate of incorporation, articles or constitutional documents, FSC business name registration where relevant, local business address, valid email address, passport or status documents, immigration status documents, other permits, and sector-specific clearances.
Applications must be complete, accurate, consistent with the intended activity, and supported by the correct corporate and identity information. If the authority requests appearance, additional particulars, inspection, or further evidence, the request must be handled by an authorised person.
8. Corporate Structure and FSC Checks
Where a TCI company, foreign company registration, business name, partnership, registered agent, company manager, land holding company, or other structure is used, the Financial Services Commission and Companies Registry position must be checked.
Registered companies may need current director, member/shareholder, and beneficial owner information, evidence of good standing, statutory registers, registered office details, constitutional documents, economic substance consideration, and timely filings.
Sole traders and partnerships may need a valid business name registration certificate unless exempt. Any trading name used publicly must match the approved registration and licence position.
9. Tax and Revenue Registration
After a licence is issued, taxable activities may require registration with the Revenue Department for the relevant tax or revenue stream. Depending on the activity, this may include hotel, restaurant and tourism taxes, vehicle hire stamp duty, domestic financial services sales tax, insurance premium sales tax, telecommunications tax, import duties, customs processing fees, or other charges.
Pricing, customer terms, invoices, marketplace listings, contracts, and payment flows must allow for local duties, fees, tax collection, remittance timing, refunds, penalties, and government changes.
10. Sector Approval Check
The licence owner must check whether specialist approval is required before trading. Examples include:
- Accommodation, hospitality, short-term rentals, tourism services, events, or destination management
- Real estate brokers, property managers, construction, contractors, facilities, and development activity
- Food, agriculture, live animals, insects, animal products, plants, soil, compost, and regulated articles
- Imports, exports, customs concessions, controlled goods, vehicles, chemicals, medicines, pharmaceuticals, and high-value goods
- Financial services, insurance, money transmission, company management, trust activity, investment activity, and DNFBP activity
- Telecommunications, public transport, taxis, buses, security, CCTV, firearms, drones, and other controlled or safety-sensitive activities
11. Work Permits and Staffing
Before a person performs work in TCI, the Group must check whether that person can lawfully work without a permit or whether a work permit, temporary work permit, labour clearance, local recruitment step, advertisement, health certificate, police record, or other immigration document is required.
Work must not begin on the assumption that a person is only visiting, volunteering, shadowing, training, freelancing, remotely supporting, or helping a local partner. The substance of the activity decides the risk.
12. Premises, Locations and Display
Each local trading location, office, warehouse, storage site, accommodation unit, farm, event site, port activity, customer site, or shared premises must be checked against the licence particulars, lease or occupation rights, planning position, safety requirements, insurance, and sector approvals.
Where a Business Licence certificate is issued for a designated place of operation, it must be displayed conspicuously as required by TCI rules. The licence must not be copied, altered, lent, reassigned, or displayed for a different entity or location.
13. Renewals and Annual Calendar
TCI Business Licences expire annually on 31 March unless the applicable law or authority notice states otherwise. The renewal period, grace period, suspension date, reinstatement process, cancellation risk, and penalty date must be checked against the current Revenue Department notice each year.
For the 2026/2027 renewal cycle, official notices stated that renewals commenced on 1 April 2026 and ended on 30 April 2026, with late consequences including suspension, reinstatement timing, cancellation risk, and penalties according to the published IRD timetable.
Renewal preparation should include the correct application, payment, current corporate information, beneficial owner information, good standing evidence where required, business name certificate where required, and sector clearances that apply to the activity.
14. Changes in Particulars
Changes to licence particulars must be notified to the Revenue Department in writing within the applicable deadline, commonly 30 days from the change. Relevant changes may include ownership, directors, beneficial ownership, business name, address, activity, location, contact details, legal structure, local representative, or sector approval status.
A change must not be treated as approved until the relevant authority position is clear. Material changes may require a new licence, amended licence, additional category, updated tax registration, FSC filing, inspection, or separate approval.
15. Dormant, Inactive and Closed Activity
If TCI activity stops, the licence owner must assess whether to cancel the licence, deregister the taxable activity, notify the Revenue Department, close or amend FSC registrations, terminate local authority, remove public claims, close marketplace listings, update customer notices, and settle outstanding fees or filings.
Inactive licences should not be left open where they create penalties, public confusion, false authority, tax exposure, or a route for unauthorised third-party use.
16. Local Representatives, Agents and Advisers
Only approved representatives may submit applications, receive notices, sign forms, deal with authorities, collect certificates, arrange inspections, or correspond with regulators on behalf of the Group.
Agents, company managers, customs brokers, recruiters, property agents, tourism operators, consultants, or local partners must have a defined role, written authority, and clear limits. They must not create side commitments, undisclosed commissions, false ownership positions, or regulator communications that have not been approved.
17. Refusal, Suspension, Breach or Investigation
If an application is refused, incomplete, suspended, cancelled, queried, inspected, investigated, or subject to penalty, local activity must be paused or restricted until the issue is assessed.
No person may backdate trading authority, create false evidence, move activity to another category, use another person's licence, trade through an affiliate without approval, pressure an officer, or continue under a misleading description.
18. Control Checklist
Before approval to operate in TCI, the responsible person should be able to confirm:
- The correct activity category and licence route have been identified
- The corporate or business name position is accurate
- Ownership, beneficial ownership, and control are transparent
- Any TCI Islander status, reserved, restricted, exclusive, Cabinet, or moratorium issue has been considered
- Tax, customs, immigration, employment, premises, insurance, and sector approvals have been checked
- Third-party authority is written and limited
- The renewal and change-notification process is understood
19. Internal Approval
TCI licence applications, renewals, cancellations, material changes, regulated sector activity, local company formation, foreign company registration, property occupation, local hiring, and high-risk contracts require internal approval before submission or commitment.
Approval may be refused where the activity creates unacceptable licensing, ownership, immigration, tax, customs, AML, sanctions, property, product, employment, data, or reputational risk.
20. Responsibility and Review
The project owner, licence owner, corporate owner, and local representative are responsible for applying this procedure to the TCI activity under their control.
This procedure should be reviewed when TCI business licensing law, IRD guidance, FSC requirements, renewal periods, ownership categories, moratoria, corporate filings, tax registrations, immigration rules, or sector licensing requirements change.
