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* Takes place simultaneously with another procedure.
Registration Requirements Details
Procedure 1.
Notary legalizes company statutes
Time to complete:
3-14 days
Cost to complete:
3-6% of capital
Name of Agency:
Comment:
Although it is not required by law, lawyers prepare company statutes in practice. By law, however, notary publics must legalize the statutes and prepare the public deed. There is one notary in Malabo (island) and one in Bata (mainland).
Procedure 2.
Register public deed in the commercial registry
Time to complete:
2-3 days
Cost to complete:
3% of capital
Name of Agency:
Comment:
For registration, the entrepreneur must provide the legalized copies of the statutes. By law, the company must use a unique company name, but in practice, they do not verify the name beforehand. The registry simply refuses the application if the name already exists.
Procedure 3.
Open bank account and obtain bank certificate
Time to complete:
1 day
Cost to complete:
no charge
Name of Agency:
Comment:
Legally, the company must deposit the minimum capital before company registration. However, this is not possible in practice because copies of the legalized statutes and the registration certificate are required to open a bank account.
Procedure 4.
Obtain certificate of solvency
Time to complete:
2 days
Cost to complete:
CFA 10,000 – 15,000 (stamps)
Name of Agency:
Comment:
The certificate of solvency is obtained at UNIGES.
Procedure 5.
Obtain certificate of fiscal solvency
Time to complete:
2 days
Cost to complete:
CFA 5,000 – 10,000 (stamps)
Name of Agency:
Comment:
The certificate of fiscal solvency is obtained at the Ministry of Finance.
Procedure 6.
Apply for authorization of establishment by the Prime Minister
Time to complete:
1-12 months
Cost to complete:
FCFA 2000 (stamp)
Name of Agency:
Comment:
The application for authorization of establishment includes an explanatory note on the company’s objectives and its value to society (often elaborated by a lawyer). Depending on the company’s industrial sector, before granting the authorization the Prime Minster may ask the supervising ministries for their opinion on the application. The company must also provide the two certificates of solvencies.
Procedure 7.
Apply for tax registration
Time to complete:
1 day (simultaneous with previous procedure)
Cost to complete:
1% of capital (tax identification number – NIF) + 1% of capital (minimum fiscal quota) + CFA 2,000 (tax ID number)
Name of Agency:
Comment:
The documents required to apply for tax registration include a copy of the application for authorization of the establishment approved by the Prime Minister, and the notarized statutes. The fees are paid at the bank into an account of the Public Treasury. After obtaining the Treasury’s confirmation of receipt of payment, the applicant returns to the tax authorities to obtain the tax identification number. To save time, the applicant (or a designated agent) would first visit all agencies (tax administration, labor, social security, etc.) to apply for the respective authorization or document, make all bank payments, and obtain Treasury confirmation. The applicant would then visit all agencies again to obtain the final authorization.
Procedure 8.
Notify Ministry of Labor of the start of operations
Time to complete:
1 day (simultaneous with previous procedure)
Cost to complete:
CFA 300 (form) + CFA 6,750 (small) - CFA 12,500 (medium-sized)
Name of Agency:
Comment:
As with tax registration, fees are paid to the Treasury through a private bank. Once operational, the employer pays 1% of salaries to the worker protection fund (Fondo de Proteccion del Trabajador). Employees pays 0.5% of their salary. Although the indicated fees are official fees, fees might be higher in practice.
Procedure 9.
Register for social security
Time to complete:
1 day (simultaneous with previous procedure)
Cost to complete:
FCFA 300 per page
Name of Agency:
Comment:
The company must register its employees for social security in the first month that the employees receive a salary. Social security payments are 21.5% of salary for the employer and 4.5% for the employee. To register for social security, the company must buy special forms to list all employees (13 to a page).
Procedure 10.
Apply for registration with the Department of Small and Medium-size Companies at the Ministry of Commerce
Time to complete:
1 day (simultaneous with previous procedure)
Cost to complete:
FCFA 100000
Name of Agency:
Comment:
This annual fee varies by company.
Procedure 11.
Apply for registration with the Department of Commerce at the Ministry of Commerce
Time to complete:
1 day (simultaneous with previous procedure)
Cost to complete:
FCFA 150000
Name of Agency:
Comment:
This annual fee varies by company.
Procedure 12.
Apply for registration with the Minister of Development and Planning (Ministerio de Desarrollo y Planificacion)
Time to complete:
1 day (simultaneous with previous procedure)
Cost to complete:
FCFA 150000
Name of Agency:
Comment:
The fee varies by company.
Procedure 13.
Pay fees into treasury’s bank account
Time to complete:
1 day (simultaneous with previous procedure)
Cost to complete:
included in procedure 7-12
Name of Agency:
Comment:
All payments to public institutions (ministries, for example), must be made directly to the Treasury’s bank account through a private bank.
Procedure 14.
Obtain confirmation from Treasury for receipt of payment
Time to complete:
3-5 days (simultaneous with previous procedure)
Cost to complete:
no charge
Name of Agency:
Comment:
See Procedure 13.
Procedure 15.
Obtain tax identification number (NIF)
Time to complete:
2 days (simultaneous with previous procedure)
Cost to complete:
included in procedure 7
Name of Agency:
Comment:
Procedure 16.
Obtain registration number with Ministry of Labor
Time to complete:
1 day (simultaneous with previous procedure)
Cost to complete:
included in procedure 8
Name of Agency:
Comment:
Procedure 17.
Obtain social security number
Time to complete:
1 day (simultaneous with previous procedure)
Cost to complete:
included in procedure 9
Name of Agency:
Comment:
Procedure 18.
Obtain license from Department of Small and Medium-size Enterprises
Time to complete:
14 days (simultaneous with previous procedure)
Cost to complete:
included in procedure 10
Name of Agency:
Comment:
Procedure 19.
Obtain license from Department of Commerce
Time to complete:
14 days (simultaneous with previous procedure)
Cost to complete:
included in procedure 11
Name of Agency:
Comment:
Procedure 20.
Obtain license from Ministry of Development and Planning
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