Story ID: 243_CAACayman.doc
Cayman Islands Touting Smoother Registration Process
By: Thierry Dubois
Caption: The civil aviation authority of the Cayman Islands is promoting the absence of red tape, combined with asset security
Word Count: 426
The Civil Aviation Authority of the Cayman Islands (CAACI, booth H417) is here promoting registration of aircraft in the country. The main reasons to choose this UK overseas territory are its favorable tax regime, low levels of red tape and a strictly enforced, English law-based legal system, according to CAACI. It is mandated to ensure that civil aviation in the Cayman Islands conforms to ICAO’s standards and recommended practices.

Local laws, with the Privy Council in England being the jurisdiction’s final court of appeal, “afford certainty and confidence to both owners and financiers of aircraft,” a spokesperson said. The Cayman Islands has been a stable parliamentary democracy since 1831, she emphasized.

No direct taxation (such as income, sales or capital gains tax) is applicable there. The government has signed some agreements, notably with the U.S. administration, related to reporting obligations. However, “these advances have been balanced against preserving the privacy of clients, wherever possible,” the spokesperson said.

To register an aircraft in the Cayman Islands, the owner must be a citizen of a Commonwealth state or the European Economic Area. Nevertheless, any owner may locally establish a special purpose vehicle (SPV) company. The CAACI has determined that “neither the directors nor the shareholders need to be resident in the Cayman Islands for the SPV to qualify.” Therefore, a Chinese company may incorporate an SPV in the Cayman Islands to register a private jet.

The country promises fast-moving legal procedures, such as an average time for registration of six to eight weeks. CAACI deploys its airworthiness surveyors to inspect aircraft at their home bases. It claims to issue letters of authorization for operational and airworthiness approvals “within a few days, rather than weeks or months.”

An aircraft mortgage registration can be affected “within 24 hours.” Cayman Islands courts may deal with claims such as the enforcement of aircraft mortgages. The result is a high level of “security for a mortgagee who records his or her security interest locally.”

Operators of Cayman-registered aircraft are exempt from certain TSA waiver authorization requirements. This allows greater flexibility, as the process normally requires applications to be made five to seven business days in advance of flights.

The CAACI’s aircraft register is primarily a “private register.” With the exception of airlines serving the public of the Cayman Islands on a regular basis, the register is not open to commercial aircraft. A private jet registered in the country will have a registration beginning with VP-C.