Starting a Business in the Islamic Republic of Iran

This table summarizes the procedures and costs associated with setting up a business in Iran, Islamic Rep..

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Legal Form: Private Joint Stock Company (Sherkat-e-Sahami Khass)
City: Tehran

	Procedure	Time to complete:	Cost to complete:
1	Search and reserve a unique company name	1 day	IRR 40000
2	Deposit at least 35% of the subscribed shares in a bank account and obtain a certificate from the bank	1 day	no charge
3	Register the company with the Companies Registration Office for companies and pay registration duties	3 days	IRR 375000
4	Place a notice of the company formation in the Official Gazette and the selected newspaper of general circulation	1 day	IRR140,000 for official Gazette; IRR 240,000 for general circulation newspaper
5	Take out the officially sealed books of account within 30 days after the date of registration	1 day	IRR 100000
6	Pay the share certificate stamp duty within 60 days after the date of registration of the company	1 day	0.2% of the par value of the subscribed share capital
7	Enroll workers in the social security program by open files for all employees before the Iranian Labor Department and obtain a workplace number	1 day	no charge

Procedure 1.: Search and reserve a unique company name
Time to complete:: 1 day
Cost to complete:: IRR 40000
Name of Agency:
Comment:: Name checks asre checked thoroughly against a comprehensive electronic database for identical or similar existing names.

Procedure 2.: Deposit at least 35% of the subscribed shares in a bank account and obtain a certificate from the bank
Time to complete:: 1 day
Cost to complete:: no charge
Name of Agency:
Comment:: Deposit at least 35% of the subscribed shares in a bank account and obtain a certificate from the bank.

Procedure 3.: Register the company with the Companies Registration Office for companies and pay registration duties
Time to complete:: 3 days
Cost to complete:: IRR 375000
Name of Agency:
Comment:: To register with the Companies Registration Office, the company must submit the articles of association, signed by all shareholders; a declaration, stating that all shares have been subscribed; the minutes of the general assembly of founders and board of directors; a bank certificate, showing that at least 35% of all shares have been paid in; the minutes of the shareholders’ meeting, reflecting the election of the first directors and inspector(s); a written statement accepting the position of directorship and inspectorship; birth certificates (certified copies) of the shareholders and inspectors; the name of a mass circulation newspaper in which all company announcements will be published.

Application files receive a bar code and each internal desk that receives the file tracks its entrance and exit. In addition, an electronic payment system is conducted with a card and a machine is used to pay registration fees.

Procedure 4.: Place a notice of the company formation in the Official Gazette and the selected newspaper of general circulation
Time to complete:: 1 day
Cost to complete:: IRR140,000 for official Gazette; IRR 240,000 for general circulation newspaper
Name of Agency:
Comment:: It is possible to directly publish the notice of the company formation through the Official Gazette and the selected newspaper or general circulation or submit it to the post office, which then forward them to the Gazette. This process takes 15 to 30 days. However, businesses do not need to wait until the publication is completed to start their business . Upon submission of the registration notice to the official gazette for publication, a copy of which is affixed with the stamp of the official gazette office as the sign of the notice being in the process of publication. This notice, bearing the stamp of the official gazette, in terms of the start of the business has the same value as the notice published in the Gazette. With this notice the company can continue other business operation formalities.

Procedure 5.: Take out the officially sealed books of account within 30 days after the date of registration
Time to complete:: 1 day
Cost to complete:: IRR 100000
Name of Agency:
Comment:: The cost depends on the number of pages of the official sealed books of account.

Procedure 6.: Pay the share certificate stamp duty within 60 days after the date of registration of the company
Time to complete:: 1 day
Cost to complete:: 0.2% of the par value of the subscribed share capital
Name of Agency:
Comment:: The stamp suty must be paid within 60 days after the date of registration of the company.

Procedure 7.: Enroll workers in the social security program by open files for all employees before the Iranian Labor Department and obtain a workplace number
Time to complete:: 1 day
Cost to complete:: no charge
Name of Agency:
Comment:: To open files in the social security program, the applicant sends a copy of the first monthly salary report to the Iranian Labor Department with a premium contribution of 33% of the employee’s monthly salary (7% worker, 23% employer (3% unemployment contribution, and 3% government).