Nevis’ Limited Liability Companies and their Advantages

The island of Nevis enacted a favorable limited liability company (LLC) Ordinance in 1995 that came into effect on the 1^st May 1995. The Ordinance indicates that an LLC “may be organized for any lawful business purpose or purposes, including without limitation, the rendering of professional services by or through its members, managers, officers, subject to any licensing or registration requirements applicable in any jurisdiction in which the services are rendered or which such persons are licensed or registered.” In order to establish a LLC in Nevis it must contain the following:

• Formation by one or more persons, without regard to his or her residence, domicile or jurisdiction may form an LLC
• Registered agent established in St. Christopher and Nevis.
• Company name shall contain the words “limited liability company” or the abbreviation “LLC”, “L.L.C.”, or “L.C.”,
• Articles of Organization must be established with the name (1) of the company, (2) statement that the LLC is formed under the Ordinance (3) latest date of which the company is to dissolve if any; (4) name and address of the agent in Nevis (5) whether the LLC is managed by managers exclusive of the members or by all of the members in their capacity as members.
• Whether the LLC company is managed by managers exclusive of the members or by all the members in their capacity members.

Advantages of an LLC in Nevis

According to the Ordinance PART IV 19. An LLC is solely liable for its debts, obligations and liabilities. An LLC can be a proper plaintiff in a suit against the LLC company and the name of a member, manager or employee of an LLC. Further Nevis LLCS are a vehicle of transparent and flow-through entity whereby the income generated by the entity is taxed directly to the members and not to the company. A LLC in Nevis will be exempted from tax, on income, profits, dividends, interest and capital gains.

 Personal data confidentiality

Nevis prohibits the access of company managers, directors, and owners on any public record. The information is only accessed by the resident agent and can only be requested in case the entity is involved in an illicit matter.

Enforcement of laws in Nevis

In Nevis courts do not recognize judgments from foreign courts. If a judgment is declared in a foreign jurisdiction the jurisdiction will not recognize it an a new legal process must be initiated. Further class-action suits are not recognized in Nevis and only individual legal process can be initiated. The Court does require a insurance of $100,000 to be paid before any documents are submitted before them.

Statute of Limitation

Nevis for an LLC allows that a lawsuit despite about a transfer of a specific asset shall be filed within 2 years of the transfer. When a deadline is missed, the Nevis court will reject a claim and the Nevis LLC will proceed with its operations without any disruptions. In addition, if a plaintiff  persuades the court that the evidence supports their case and succeeds, the following can occur:

1. The courts decision and the plaintiffs claim on the defendant´s company ownership are valid for only three (3) years with no extension.
2. A court ruling applies only to the individual owner of the company who is involved in the case. In the case of multiple LLC owners, the shares of the other participants remain unaffected.
3. A plaintiff may not claim ownership of the actual assets within the entity, nevertheless they are only allowed to seek the dividends the defendant received.

Conclusion

The LLC is a recent phenomenon as an alternative to the typical known business company in the jurisdiction. The recent amendments have made it attractive for foreigners to use this vehicular to organize their assets and protection of patrimony.