Restricted and Prohibited Business Activities
Activities that need the Minister's consent, and activities no entity may carry on
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Some business activities may only be carried on with the consent of the Minister. Others may not be carried on at all.
Restricted activities: the Ninth Schedule
No company may carry on a restricted business activity set out in the Ninth Schedule to the Companies Act 1981 without the consent of the Minister. The restricted activities are:
- operating a financial institution within the meaning of section 1(1) of the Bermuda Monetary Authority Act 1969, other than an investment fund or a person registered under section 4 or 10 of the Insurance Act 1978
- digital asset issuances under the Digital Asset Issuance Act 2020
- providing to the general public professional services as a barrister and attorney, medical practitioner, architect, dental practitioner, public accountant, optometrist, optician, professional surveyor, nurse, health service provider, or a profession listed in the First Schedule to the Professions Supplementary to Medicine Act 1973
- acquiring or holding land, other than under sections 120 and 129
Applying for the Minister's consent
Consent is applied for as part of your registration, on the prescribed form. Where the company is local and is not carrying on a restricted business activity, a separate application form is used to say so.
RELATED
How to register an entity: the steps →
What the Registrar checks before registering →
Prohibited activities: the Tenth Schedule
The Tenth Schedule lists activities that no company may carry on at all, with or without consent:
- trafficking in armaments
- providing unauthorised gaming services
- unauthorised dealing in controlled drugs
OTHER GUIDES IN BEFORE YOU REGISTER
Choosing an entity type for your business
Local and exempted entities explained
The Bermudian Ownership Requirement