The Misuse of Shell Companies

[sumaiyakhatun26]

The Unshell Bill
The European Commission met on 22 December 2021 in Brussels, to discuss the Unshell Bill, the so called anti-tax avoidance Directive 3 (“ATAD 3”), to address the misuse of “shell”, or letterbox, companies that have been created for improper tax purposes.

The purpose is to discourage the use of “shell” companies, where there is little or no business activity, and/or where the vehicle is being used for aggressive tax planning or tax avoidance and evasion purposes. It will mean that in the future, deemed shell companies will not be able to access tax relief and related benefits, if certain criteria are met. The proposal is relevant to all businesses; small, medium and large.


The misuse of shell companies exists in various forms and presents an opportunity to abuse tax obligations.

Shell companies are typically created to generate a financial flow through the respective malaysia mobile database company, in jurisdictions with no or very low taxes or where taxes are circumvented in some way. In other cases, individuals make use of shell companies to shield assets and real estate from taxes, either in the country in which they are resident or where the property is physically located.

Key Components of the Bill
The proposed Directive, once adopted, must be transposed into national law by the Member States before 30 June 2023, to come into effect from 1 January 2024.

This Directive sets out transparency standards, so that entities that merely exist ‘on paper’ can be more easily detected by the respective tax authorities.

The EU Commission proposes to introduce a filtering system to determine whether a company is deemed to be a shell company or not.

Companies that meet three gateway ‘cumulative’ requirements, will need to disclose information in their tax return to validate the company’s substance. This information will include providing supporting evidence regarding the company’s premises and bank accounts as well as the tax residency of its directors and employees.