Belarus

Starting a Business in

Belarus

Listed below is a detailed summary of the bureaucratic and legal hurdles an entrepreneur must overcome in order to incorporate and register a new firm, along with their associated time and set-up costs.  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 (GNI).

The information appearing on this page was collected as part of the Doing Business project, which measures and compares regulations relevant to the life cycle of a small- to medium-sized domestic business in 183 economies. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2011.

  • Standardized Company

  • Legal Form: Private Limited Company
  • City: Minsk

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No. Procedure Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 Obtain an approval of the company name with the Registry Office

One of the company founders must present an application to the Company Registry with proposed company names. An official checks whether the proposed names are available for registration and, if so, issues a certificate for the name. Name checking is available on line, but entrepreneurs need to obtain a signed consent from the Registry. Alternatively, entrepreneurs can download the application form online fill it out at home and post it by mail to Company registry, Company registry will approve and reply within 2 days. Names can be reserved for a period of up to 3 months.
1 day no charge
2 Open a temporary bank account

There is no minimum capital requirement in Belarus according to Decree No. 1 of 16 January, 2009. There is no need for shareholders to be "physically present" at the bank to deposit their share capital. A shareholder may act through his/her attorney. For that an attorney shall present to the bank a valid power of attorney. The attorney should also submit other documents such as the proof of Identification, articles of association, and minutes of the shareholder meeting.
1 day no charge
3 Business registration with the State Registry

Decree No. 1 of 16 January sets a maximum of 5 days for registration: 1 day for the actual registration +4 days for the company registry to inform other agencies (such as tax authority) of the registration. After the 1st day company is considered registered and “open for business”. This notification of registration is an internal procedure (i.e. no involvement by the entrepreneur needed).
According to the amendments to the Civil Code and Companies act, a Private Limited Company is no longer required to have a Memorandum of Association and may now register only with Articles of Association.
1 day BYR 175,000
4 Open a regular bank account

The Bank will certify that this is the account that will be used to complete transactions related to the business. After opening the current bank account, companies must submit a formal notice (with bank account details) to Social Security, Insurance, and Tax authorities. Companies must also submit a “bank card,” a document showing signature samples of those who can sign on behalf of the company.
1 day no charge
5 Make a company seal

There are no laws requiring a business to purchase company seal. However, the company seal is required for consignment notes and for certain bank transactions and power of attorney. Government agencies, such as the tax authority, would have no legal grounds for refusing documents that do not have a company seal. Nevertheless out of habit, most limited liability companies would purchase a seal. Several companies manufacture seals in Belarus. The business must show the companies the registration certificate, the articles of association and the minutes of the shareholder meeting in order to purchase a seal.
1 day BYR 50,000
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