Guide to Starting a Business in Iran

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 Iran. 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	Search for a company name; obtain a name reservation letter from the Baghdad Chamber of Commerce	2 days	IQD 500,000
2	Hire a lawyer to draft articles of association	1 day	about IQD 1,500,000
3	Deposit initial capital at commercial bank and obtain confirmation receipt	2 days	IQD 5,000
4	File for registration at the Commercial Registry	14 days	IQD 250,000 - 350,000
5	Make company seal	2 days	IQD 20,000
6	Obtain registration certificate	1 day	included in procedure 4
7	Report to tax authority to establish tax registration	2 days	IQD 450,000
8	Legalize accounting books	2 days	USD 150
9	Register employees for social security	3 days	IQD 20,000
10	Apply for a trade license	30- 60 days	IQD 200,000