Incorporation is the start of a company’s Commercial Registry obligations. A Guyana company must keep its registered-office records current, notify the Registrar of specified changes and, subject to statutory exceptions, make an annual return.
Annual-return timing
Every company must make an annual return at least once in every year, subject to the Companies Act exceptions.
The return is:
- made up to the date of the company’s annual general meeting;
- prepared with the particulars required by the Fifth Schedule;
- signed by a director or the company secretary; and
- lodged with the Registrar within 42 days after the annual general meeting.
A company is not required to make the section 153 return in its year of incorporation. It is also not required in the following year where section 107 does not require it to hold an annual general meeting.
Form 19 and financial annexes
The Companies Regulations prescribe Form 19 for the annual return and associated financial statements.
Form 19 captures information including:
- company and registered-office identity;
- share and indebtedness information;
- past and present members;
- directors and secretary;
- auditors; and
- the accounts-compliance statement.
Section 154 requires specified certified accounts and auditor or director reports to be annexed, subject to the Act and its qualifications.
The current DCRA Forms catalogue did not visibly list a standalone annual-return form when the approved source set was compiled. The statutory identity of Form 19 therefore does not prove that a current standalone operational download, complete document package or filing route is available online.
Do not copy the external-company fee
The approved sources do not establish a current fee for a local-company annual return. A GYD 3,500 amount in regulation 24(2)(c) applies to an external-company annual return and must not be transferred to local companies.
Confirm the current local-company fee, filing channel, payment channel and supporting-document package directly with DCRA.
Registered-office changes
A company must at all times have a registered office in Guyana.
The company must send the Registrar the prescribed notice of an address change within 15 days after the change. Keep the registered-office record aligned across internal registers, DCRA filings, tax records and business correspondence.
Director and secretary records
A company must notify the Registrar of a change among its directors within one month after the change. A director whose register particulars change must notify the company in writing within seven days.
The current-linked DCRA notice-of-directors form accommodates appointments and cessations, but the Companies Act controls the deadline.
The approved source set does not establish a distinct current secretary-change notice, filing deadline, fee or channel. Secretary particulars still belong in the company register and annual return, so confirm the current operational route with DCRA.
Records kept at the registered office
The company must maintain records including:
- articles and by-laws, with amendments;
- shareholder minutes and resolutions;
- copies of notices required by the Act;
- the shareholder register;
- the directors register;
- the secretary register; and
- beneficial-ownership information.
Use a compliance calendar that distinguishes the annual-return deadline from event-driven notice periods.
Before filing or reporting a change
- Confirm the annual general meeting date and calculate the 42-day deadline.
- Confirm whether an incorporation-year exception applies.
- Obtain the current Form 19 or DCRA-approved filing package.
- Prepare the required company particulars and applicable financial annexes.
- Confirm the local-company fee and accepted filing and payment channels.
- Check for unreported registered-office, director, secretary or beneficial-ownership changes.
- Have the return signed by a director or the company secretary.
- Retain submission and payment evidence in the registered-office records.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Counting 42 days from the calendar year-end instead of the annual general meeting.
- Treating the incorporation-year exception as a permanent exemption.
- Using an external-company fee for a local company.
- Assuming Form 19’s statutory identity proves a current online filing route.
- Missing the shorter 15-day registered-office deadline or one-month director-change deadline.
- Treating annual returns and beneficial-ownership updates as the same filing.
Official sources
Editorial note
This guide provides general information, not legal, accounting or company-secretarial advice. Confirm the current Form 19 package, fee and filing route with DCRA before submission.
