FAQS On The Commercial Entities (Substance Requirements) Act, 2018 ("Cesra").

1. HOW DO I KNOW IF MY COMPANY FALLS WITHIN THE SCOPE OF CESRA?

The first step to is ascertain if the company is a commercial entity. Under CESRA s.2, a commercial entity is any company that is incorporated, registered or continued under the Companies Act, the IBC Act and the Exempted Limited Partnership Act. The next step is to ascertain if the company is an included entity. An "included entity", that is a commercial entity engaged in a relevant activity, must have substance in the Bahamas. There are reduced substance requirements for non-included entities. Non included entities will be required to register as such.

Relevant activities are as follows:

1. Banking business
2. Insurance business