FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
UPDATE ON VIRRGIN ECONOMIC SUBSTANCE PLATFORM
Tortola, BVI – 13 JULY 2026
Economic Substance Bulk Filing Update
In our communication dated 19 May 2026, the International Tax Authority (“ITA”) advised that it was working with the developers to resolve technical and system errors affecting the submission of declarations. We are pleased to confirm that significant improvements have since been made to the Economic Substance bulk filing functionality within VIRRGIN.
The ITA also noted in previous communications that some Registered Agents were unable to meet Economic Substance Declaration filing deadlines due to issues with the bulk filing process. Following several critical system enhancements, the filing period for affected declarations has been extended until further notice to allow outstanding filings to be submitted.
This extension applies to declarations with financial periods ending in June 2025 and December 2025.
Submission Requirements
To facilitate the efficient processing of outstanding declarations, all affected filings must be submitted using the Bulk Filing option in VIRRGIN.
To support this process, the Single Filing option for Economic Substance Declarations will be temporarily disabled. Once the ITA has determined that the majority of the outstanding declarations have been successfully submitted through the bulk filing process, the Single Filing option will be restored.
Excel Template Guidance
When preparing your bulk filing template, please observe the following requirements:
1. Use the template downloaded directly from VIRRGIN. Do not modify the workbook structure, including the column headings, worksheet names, formulas, or formatting. Any changes to the template may cause the file to fail validation.
2. Do not change the field formats. Fields designated as Text or Date must remain in their original format. Converting fields into another format (such as General or Number) may prevent successful validation.
3. Use the drop-down lists provided. Where the template contains drop-down selections (for example, Country and other controlled fields), values must be selected from the available lists. Do not overwrite these fields by manually entering values.
4. Verify the financial period. Ensure that the Financial Period Start Date and Financial Period End Date are correct before submitting the template.
5. Do not delete the instruction rows. The instruction and header rows included in the template must remain intact. The system begins processing records from Row 5, and deleting these rows will cause the submission to be rejected.
6. Download a new template for each submission. Registered Agents are encouraged to download a fresh copy of the bulk filing template from VIRRGIN before preparing each submission to ensure they are using the latest version.
Financial Period Corrections
If the financial period for an entity was affected during the migration from BOSS to VIRRGIN, Registered Agents should contact the ITA so that the financial period can be reviewed and corrected, where appropriate, before submitting the declaration.
2025 and 2026 Declarations
Registered Agents may include declarations for both the 2025 and 2026 financial periods in the same bulk filing template, provided all required information is completed accurately.
Additional Guidance
Comprehensive guidance on preparing and submitting Economic Substance bulk filings is available in the Meeting the Regulator (MTR) presentation, which can be accessed on the ITA website at www.bviita.vg.
If you continue to experience issues after following the above guidance, please contact the ITA and provide the Batch Number, together with a description of the issue, to assist with prompt investigation and resolution.
The ITA appreciates your continued cooperation and patience as these improvements are implemented and remains committed to supporting Registered Agents in completing all outstanding Economic Substance filings.
Have a query?
Email us at info@bviita.vg
Visit our website at https://bviita.vg
Telephone: 1-284-394-4415