Parliament on Friday tabled three bills to amend and clarify regulations related to companies and trusts.

The Companies Amendment Act 2004 would amend Section 55 of the Companies Act 1981 which pertains to the registration of charges over the assets of a company. It provides a new definition of "charges" to capture all security interests and also inserts a new section to enable the Registrar of Companies to amend the charges register by adding or removing persons entitled to a charge or where the interest of one or more persons entitled to a charge is assigned or transferred. The amendment also clarifies that an overseas company can only register charges over property it owns or acquires.

A filing two years ago gave companies the option to circulate summarised statements to their shareholders. The amendment will clarify that if a company exercises this option the full financial statement must be made available to the public at the company's registered office. The Registrar of Companies will also end the delay of up to a month for fee payments on memorandum of association. Companies will be required to pay required fees at the time of filing an application to ensure prompt payment.

The Trusts (Special Provisions) Amendment Act 2004 would clarify the application of foreign mandatory succession laws in the Trusts (Special Provisions) Act 1989. The amendment would ensure that a trust validly created under the laws of Bermuda can only be set aside under the laws of Bermuda.

The Trustee Amendment Act 2004 repeals a section of the Trustee Act 1975 that restricted a trustee's power of advancement. The amendment will enable the power of advancement to be available to the trustees of all trusts governed by the laws of Bermuda no matter where they were constituted or created.