Starting a business in Comoros : Guide
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 Comoros. 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 | Verify and reserve the company name | 1 day | no charge |
| 2 | Deposit and register the company’s articles of association with the public notary | 2 days | KMF 22,500 for the statement of deposit |
| 3 | Deposit the legally required capital in a bank and obtain the deposit evidence | 4 days | KMF 55,000 |
| 4 | Deposit company statutes at Ministry of Finance | 2 days | KMF 15,000 KMF + KMF 500 for stamp duty per page (3 copies of the statutes; 10 pages per statute) |
| 5 | Register the company at the commercial court | 1 day | KMF 10,000 |
| 6 | Obtain the professional license (patente) at the tax administration | 8 days | see comments |
| * 7 | Legalize the company books at court | 7 days (simultaneous with previous procedure) | KMF 1,000 per book |
| 8 | Make a company seal | 2 days | KMF 10,000 |
| * 9 | Register for social security | 1 day (simultaneous with previous procedure) | no charge |
