The US Virgin Islands (USVI) Office of the Lieutenant Governor launched a new online platform for businesses (Catalyst), which all corporations conducting business in the USVI must use to register and submit their corporate annual reports and franchise tax annual reports beginning with the 2018 tax year. These reports are due annually and must be filed on or before June 30. The Office of the Lieutenant Governor will only accept paper filed annual reports for exempt limited liability companies and any 2017 outstanding annual reports. Existing corporations previously registered with the Division of Corporations and Trademarks are also required to create an online account through the portal.

New registrations

New business entities and trade names must follow these steps to submit a report to the Division of Corporations and Trademarks for processing:

1. Register a new online user account.
2. Select desired service from the I would like to … menu.
3. Access other registration types from the menu option Online Services > Form a New Business or Trade Names.
4. Complete all fields and tabs.
5. Submit payment and review the submission status under My Unfinished Business Tab.

The Division of Corporations and Trademarks will communicate with filers through email notification.

Existing registrations

Existing business entities and trade names previously registered with the Division of Corporations and Trademarks must follow these steps to gain access to their profile:

1. Register a new online user account.
2. Access the menu option Online Services > Search for an Entity.
3. Enter search criteria and click Search.
4. Locate the search result and click the name of the business.
5. Gain authority to maintain the business by clicking the Request Authority link in entity's profile; this request will be sent to the Division of Corporations and Trademarks for processing.
6. Log in to the entity's account and access the entity by clicking its name from the My Items tab of the dashboard once notification is received that authority has been granted.
7. Click the Update Profile Service button at the top of the profile; this step is not required for trade names.

Implications

The Division of Corporations and Trademarks cannot process online filings until the entity's profile has been updated and the status is Active/In Good Standing or Current. Therefore, businesses with USVI operations should coordinate with their legal departments, resident agents or other service providers to make sure their profiles are updated in order to timely comply with their filing obligations.

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