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 Paraguay. 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.
| No. | Procedure | Time to Complete | Associated Costs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Check the uniqueness of the proposed company name | 1 day | no charge |
| 2 | Draft the company deeds, signed by an attorney | 5 days | 1 - 3% of the paid-in capital stock of the company with minimum USD 600 |
| 3 | Notarize the company deeds | 3 days | 0.75% or 2% of the paid-in capital stock of the Company, depending on the capital |
| 4 | Buy the company commercial books | 1 day | 22 USD (books) + USD 6.56 (Authorization of books)+ 0.21 USD (Employee registration, Ministry of Labor and Justice) |
| 5 | Submit registration documents at the single access window (SUAE) | 25 days | GRN 25,840 (Public Registries of Comerce) + GRN 25,840 (Public Registries of Legal entities and Associations) + GRN 5,000 (Application Form) + GRN 20,643 (Special rate) |
| * 6 | Publication of an extract of the bylaws in the Official Gazette and a newspaper | 4 days, after registration with the Public Registry of Juridical Persons and Associations is completed (simultaneous with previous procedure) | USD 19 Official Gazette + USD 133 newspaper |
| * 7 | Municipality conducts an on site inspection | 2 days, (simultaneous with procedure 5) | no charge |