Liquidation procedure
Liquidation is the name of the procedure used to oversee the dissolution of a legal entity. A liquidator, who can also be officially appointed, depending on the respective grounds for the dissolution, conducts the four phases of the liquidation process.
A corresponding resolution issued by the board of management is required for a company to be liquidated. A liquidation can also be initiated ex officio. In the event of a liquidation, a notice to creditors is published in Liechtenstein’s official gazette, the Amtsblatt, and a liquidator is appointed. The liquidator may be a member of the management of the company that is to be liquidated, e.g. a member of the board of directors or partner. The auditor or a fiduciary or attorney-at-law may also be appointed as the liquidator. The company is listed in the commercial register with the addendum “in liquidation” and the name of the liquidator is recorded.
The liquidator begins by preparing a situation analysis, enabling transactions to be ended in a manner that takes account of the interest of creditors, compiles an inventory of assets and fulfils liabilities or settles company debts. If available, the liquidation surplus is distributed amongst the shareholders or partners, and finally an application is made to remove the company from the commercial register.
Tax liability of companies in liquidation
The tax liability ends in Liechtenstein only once the liquidation has been completed, following the relocation of the headquarters to a different country, the loss of domestic income or the removal of the domestic permanent establishment from the commercial register. This consequently means that a company in liquidation is still required to submit a comprehensively and correctly completed tax return, enclosing all necessary supporting documents and signed with legal effect. During the liquidation procedure, the liquidator is responsible for all communications with the tax administration.
What happens to the trade licence?
In the event of a liquidation, the trade licence is deleted. For this purpose, a deletion application is made using the following form (German only), whereby the original trade licence must be returned to the Office of Economic Affairs.