Ws Company Formation

---
name: ws-company-formation
description: "Source-cited draft: company formation & entity choice for Samoa (tax year 2025) — rates, thresholds and rules with primary-source citations. Unverified; pending local-accountant review."
license: "AGPL-3.0-or-later (code) / OpenAccountants Guide License v1.0 (content)"
metadata:
  source: openaccountants
  openaccountants_url: "https://www.openaccountants.com/skills/ws-company-formation"
  jurisdiction: "WS"
  tax_year: "2025"
  last_updated: "2026-07-13"
---

# Samoa Company Formation & Entity Choice

## Entity types and incorporation

Domestic businesses incorporate under the Companies Act 2001, which is modelled on New Zealand's Companies Act 1993. A separate offshore International Company regime exists under the International Companies Act 1987. The figures below cover domestic local companies.

- **Common entity types** — Local company limited by shares, sole trader, partnership, branch of a foreign company, and (offshore) International Company  _(Companies Act 2001 (https://www.ag.gov.ws/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Companies-Act-2001.pdf))_
- **Incorporating statute (domestic)** — Companies Act 2001  _(Companies Act 2001 (https://www.ag.gov.ws/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Companies-Act-2001.pdf))_
- **Registry** — Companies Office / Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Labour (MCIL) ((confirm registering body))  _(Companies Act 2001)_
- **Minimum share capital** — No statutory minimum share capital for a local company ((approx — some incorporation agents quote a nominal WST 2,000; confirm))  _(Companies Act 2001)_
- **Minimum directors** — At least 1 director; directors need not be Samoa-resident ((approx — confirm))  _(Companies Act 2001)_
- **Minimum shareholders** — At least 1 shareholder ((approx — confirm))  _(Companies Act 2001)_
- **Incorporation steps** — Reserve a unique company name, submit constitution/application with director and shareholder details to the Companies Office, then obtain a business licence and register for tax/VAGST as needed  _(Companies Act 2001)_
- **Typical incorporation timeline** — Around 1–2 weeks for a domestic company ((approx — confirm))  _(Companies Act 2001)_
- **Business licence** — A business licence from the Ministry of Customs and Revenue is generally required to trade, renewed annually ((approx — confirm))  _(Business Licences Act 1998)_
- **Core annual compliance** — Annual return to the Companies Office, annual income tax return (within 3 months of balance date), VAGST and PAYE returns where registered, and business-licence renewal  _(Companies Act 2001 / Tax Administration Act 2012)_
- **Offshore International Company tax rate on offshore profits** — 0% (International Companies under the International Companies Act 1987 are exempt from Samoa income tax on offshore profits but cannot generally carry on domestic business ((offshore regime; confirm restrictions)))  _(International Companies Act 1987 (https://ovza.com/samoas-tax-regime-for-offshore-companies/))_

## Today's figures and who stands behind this skill

This file is an AI skill (tax rules your AI follows) from OpenAccountants, copied on 2026-07-13. Rates, thresholds and deadlines change. For the current version of this skill, its official sources and the named accountant (if any) who stands behind it, call `get_skill` with slug `ws-company-formation` on the OpenAccountants connector (https://www.openaccountants.com/connect), or read https://www.openaccountants.com/skills/ws-company-formation. If neither is available, confirm every figure against the official source pages cited above before relying on it.