Formal registration of companies has many immediate benefits for the companies and for business owners and employees. Legal entities can outlive their founders. Resources are pooled as several shareholders join forces to start a company. Formally registered companies have access to services and institutions from courts to banks as well as to new markets. And their employees can benefit from protections provided by the law. An additional benefit comes with limited liability companies. These limit the financial liability of company owners to their investments, so personal assets of the owners are not put at risk. Where governments make registration easy, more entrepreneurs start businesses in the formal sector, creating more good jobs and generating more revenue for the government.
Below is a detailed summary of the bureaucratic and legal hurdles faced by entrepreneurs wishing to incorporate and register a new firm in Belgium. It examines the procedures, time and cost involved in launching a commercial or industrial firm with up to 50 employees and start-up capital of 10 times the economy's per-capita gross national income.
This information was collected from World Bank: Doing Business
| No. | Procedure | Time to Complete | Associated Costs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Deposit at least 20% of the initial capital with a Belgian credit institution and obtain a standard certification confirming that the amount is held in a blocked “capital” account | 1 day | no charge |
| 2 | Deposit a financial plan with the notary, sign the deed of incorporation and the by-laws in the presence of a notary, who authenticates the documents and registers the deed of incorporation | 1 day | fixed registration duty of EUR 25 + publication cost of EUR 237.4 + notarial fees around EUR 1,064 + notary's various costs (including file and administrative costs) of about EUR 300 = approximately EUR 1,626 (VAT excluded) |
| 3 | Register with the Register of Legal Entities, VAT, and social security at a centralized company docket (guichet-entreprises / ondernemingsloket) and obtain a company number | 2 days (1 day for commercial registration, 1 day for social security and VAT) | EUR 79 (registration fee) + EUR 50 (VAT registration) |