# 🇭🇰 Company audit in Hong Kong

> Hong Kong requires annual audit for every company, including dormant entities: requirements, exemptions and timing for UHNW holding structures based in HK.

Author: Мария Плотникова — юрист, Family Office (https://wiki.private.law/authors/plotnikova)
Last modified: 2026-06-05T18:28:00.000Z
Canonical: https://wiki.private.law/en/audit-hong-kong
Topics: structures
Jurisdictions: hong-kong
Functional tags: audit
Semantic tags: audit

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Lawyer, Family Office

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## Concept

Hong Kong is one of the few jurisdictions where annual audit is mandatory for all registered companies, including dormant and nil-activity entities. The audit report is filed together with the Profits Tax Return to the Inland Revenue Department, and without it a company cannot complete annual renewal at the Companies Registry.

> 🍓 The audit file is read twice — by the IRD with the Profits Tax Return and by the bank at KYC review. Build it once, for both readers.

Unlike European jurisdictions, HK audit does not require full bookkeeping throughout the year: the auditor works with bank statements, invoices and contracts in electronic form. Complexity and cost of audit are determined by only two parameters — annual turnover and number of transactions.

## When audit is required

- Mandatory annually for every HK Ltd, regardless of activity.
> ⚙️ Even a dormant HK Ltd files: a nil audit runs 5–7 business days from confirming no operations — book it into the annual calendar, not the deadline week.

- Filed together withProfits Tax Returnto IRD withinone month from date of issue(typically end of April).
- If the company had no movement of funds during the period —nil audit(audit nil) is prepared.
- If the company plans tax exemption (offshore profit claim) — the auditor prepares an additional opinion that profit was earned outside Hong Kong.
## Documents for auditor

> 🔗 **Related**
> [More: Hong Kong company](https://wiki.private.law/en/hong-kong)

All documents are provided electronically — originals not required.

> 💡 Scenario: a trading HK company claiming offshore profits — the audit pack must evidence where deals were negotiated and performed. More: Hong Kong company

- Bank statements for financial year (all company accounts)
- Invoices — all issued and received
- Contracts — main trading and service agreements
- Register of directors and shareholders (if changed)
- Prior year audit report (for all audits except first)
## Cost

Audit cost depends onannual company turnoverandnumber of transactions. Rates below are for standard financial year; first company audit is typically 15–20% higher.

> 💡 Cost follows transactions, not ambitions: clean statements and matched invoices are the cheapest audit accelerant.

| Category | Cost |
| --- | --- |
| Dormant audit (no transactions) | €1,200 |
| Turnover up to $120K, up to 100 transactions | €3,200 |
| Turnover up to $120K, 100–200 transactions | €4,200 |
| Turnover up to $500K, up to 100 transactions | €5,200 |
| Turnover up to $500K, 100–200 transactions | €6,200 |
| Turnover up to $1,500K, 100–200 transactions | €7,500 – €8,500 |
| Turnover up to $2,500K, 100–200 transactions | €8,500 – €9,500 |
| Turnover above $2,500K or above 200 transactions | on request |

> 💡 If your company was registered through us, we already have the full corporate package and audit history — this reduces preparation time by 30–40%.

## Timeline

- Nil audit —5–7 business daysfrom confirmation of no operations.
- Standard audit —3–5 weeksdepending on volume and quality of documents provided.
- Rush audit (2 weeks before IRD deadline) — available with 30% premium.
## Related services

- 🇭🇰 Hong Kong company— incorporation and maintenance
- 🇭🇰 Hong Kong company renewal— annual renewal at Companies Registry
- 🇨🇳 Company audit in China— if you have HK + mainland China structure
## Common delays

- Missing statementsfor part of period — banks issue within 1–3 business days, but if account closed, may take up to one month.
> ⚠️ A closed bank account does not erase the period: missing statements stall both the audit and the PTR — archive statements before closing any account.

- Mismatch between invoices and receipts— common after intragroup transfers; resolved by annotation or retrospective agreement.
- Request for additional information from IRDafter filing — typically concerns tax exemption claim; we respond within 14 days.

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## Factual claims

- Lawyer, Family Office