Starting a Business in Belize

This table summarizes the procedures and costs associated with setting up a business in Belize.

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Legal Form: Limited Liability Company
City: Belize City

	Procedure	Time to complete:	Cost to complete:
1	Conduct a name search at the Companies’ Registry	1 day	no charge
2	Register company statutes and memorandum and articles of association at the Companies’ Registry	2 days	BZD 500 for the certificate of incorporation + BZD 10 filing fee, BZD 50 registration fee + BZD 12 (x 2) for registering the statutes and memorandum + BZD 13 to register the directors to act on behalf of the company
3	Submit application to City Council for a trade license	1 day	no charge
4	Receive inspection from City Council inspector	20 days	no charge
*5	Pay for the trade license at the City Council	1 day (simultaneous with procedure 4)	25% of the annual rental value of the business premises
6	Make a company seal	2 days	BZD 50-200
7	Register the company for business tax at the income tax department	10 days	BZD 150
*8	Register the company for general sales tax (GST) at the GST office	2-3 weeks (simultaneous with procedure 7)	no charge
*9	Register the employees with the Social Security Board	2 days (simultaneous with procedure 7)	no charge

* Takes place simultaneously with another procedure.

Procedure 1.: Conduct a name search at the Companies’ Registry
Time to complete:: 1 day
Cost to complete:: no charge
Name of Agency:
Comment:: The entrepreneur must travel to Belmopan, the capital, to visit the Companies’ Registry and request a computerized name search of all existing Belizean company names, which takes a few minutes to complete. A request can also be done by telephone or fax at a fee of BZD 50

Procedure 2.: Register company statutes and memorandum and articles of association at the Companies’ Registry
Time to complete:: 2 days
Cost to complete:: BZD 500 for the certificate of incorporation + BZD 10 filing fee, BZD 50 registration fee + BZD 12 (x 2) for registering the statutes and memorandum + BZD 13 to register the directors to act on behalf of the company
Name of Agency:
Comment:: The applicable fees are BZD 500 for the certificate of compliance, BZD 10 for filing, BZD 50 for registration, BZD 12 (each) for registering the statutes and the memorandum and articles of association, and BZD 14 for registering the directors to act on the company’s behalf. The fees are paid directly at the Companies’ Registry.

At least two directors are required for this type of company. Each director must initially subscribe to at least one share, and for practical purposes, each share is worth BZD 1. Therefore, in practice, the minimum start-up capital is BZD 2.

The documentation must include the following:
- Identification for all directors and their representatives, if applicable.
- Company statutes.
- Memorandum and articles of association.

Procedure 3.: Submit application to City Council for a trade license
Time to complete:: 1 day
Cost to complete:: no charge
Name of Agency:
Comment:: The application prompts the City Council to send an inspector to visit the site. Although there are only four city council inspectors in Belize City, the inspector will usually arrive the next day.

The documentation to submit an application for trade license shall include:
- Certificate of compliance from the Companies’ Registry (obtained in Procedure 2).
- Proof of residency.

Procedure 4.: Receive inspection from City Council inspector
Time to complete:: 20 days
Cost to complete:: no charge
Name of Agency:
Comment:: The city council inspector arrives, inspects, and submits findings to the council’s trade license board. By law, the board must meet every 3 months, but in practice, it meets every 2 weeks to manage the high volume of trade license applications. At the end of the deliberation, the determination and assessment notice (25% of the inspector's assessed annual rental income of the business premises) will be couriered to the entrepreneur. About 2 days after the trade license board’s decision and the entrepreneur’s payment, the license will be hand delivered to the entrepreneur at no additional charge.

Procedure 5.: Pay for the trade license at the City Council
Time to complete:: 1 day (simultaneous with procedure 4)
Cost to complete:: 25% of the annual rental value of the business premises
Name of Agency:
Comment:: Parties take the assessment notice to the City Council and pay 25% of the annual rental value of the premises, according to the inspector’s assessment.

Procedure 6.: Make a company seal
Time to complete:: 2 days
Cost to complete:: BZD 50-200
Name of Agency:
Comment:: The company must make a company seal. This can be done at any stationary store and costs between BZD 50 and BZD 200, depending on whether it is rubber or embossed.

Procedure 7.: Register the company for business tax at the income tax department
Time to complete:: 10 days
Cost to complete:: BZD 150
Name of Agency:
Comment:: The founders must register the company with the income tax authorities before starting business, by presenting a relevant certificate of compliance. The company receives the tax number in about 1 to 2 weeks. Operations may begin at this time but the company must withhold the taxes payable. Failure to do so results in penalties and interest payable.

Procedure 8.: Register the company for general sales tax (GST) at the GST office
Time to complete:: 2-3 weeks (simultaneous with procedure 7)
Cost to complete:: no charge
Name of Agency:
Comment:: The business must register with the general services tax authorities before starting business, presenting a relevant certificate of compliance. However, final registration will not be confirmed until a few weeks later. Operations can begin during this time, but the company must withhold the taxes payable. Failure to do so results in penalties and interest payable.

Procedure 9.: Register the employees with the Social Security Board
Time to complete:: 2 days (simultaneous with procedure 7)
Cost to complete:: no charge
Name of Agency:
Comment:: All employees must be registered with the social security authorities. Confirmation of registration will take a few months. Operations can begin in the meantime, but deductions must be taken during this time.