Chile

Starting a Business in

Chile

Below is a detailed summary of the bureaucratic and legal hurdles faced by entrepreneurs wishing to incorporate and register a new firm in Chile. 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.

This information 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 185 economies. The most recent round of data collection was completed in June 2012.

Compare Chile to 184 other economies.

YearNew business densityNumber of new limited liability companies
2011 4.1349,068

  • Standardized Company

  • Legal Form: Sociedad Anónima (SA) – closed corporation
  • Paid in Minimum Capital Requirement: None
  • City: Santiago

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No. Procedure Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 Notarize articles of incorporation, record them in a public deed and send an excerpt of the public deed to the Offical Gazette and to the Commercial Registry

Since the law No. 20.494 came into effect on February 27, 2011, the notary sends an excerpt of the public deed to the Official Gazette electronically. The publication will be made on the web page of the Official Gazette (www.diarioficial.cl). The Official Gazette will publish the excerpt after two days.
Notary fees may vary from USD 100 to USD 400. The publication fees are based on the number of lines and characters. On average, the fees are about USD 150.
1 day USD 250 (notary fees)
2 Request online the registration of the company and obtain a registration certificate

Since Feebruary 2010 it is possible to register a company online in Santiago (here).

The registration of the excerpt of the public deed can be requested by the client online through the Commercial Registry’s web page (www.cbrsantiago.cl/portal), but only if it has been subscribed by the relevant notary through advanced electronic signature. After the notary subscribes the excerpt of the public deed with electronic signature and insert on it a barcode with a verification number and send it electronically to the Commercial Registrar, the client has to request the registration of his society online through the web page of the Commercial Registry. To do this, first, it is necessary to be registered on the web page. After doing that, the client will have to indicate the name and capital of the company, the name of the notary, and the verification number inserted on the excerpt. Then it is necessary to pay the cost of the registration. With the information provided, the Commercial Registry will have access to the excerpt and, if it complies with the legal requirements, the Commercial Registry will proceed to register the company.

Once the company is registered in the Commercial Registry, a registration certificate is sent to the e-mail of the client. You can also obtain a registration certificate through the Commercial Registry’s web page. The certificate is received by e-mail within 24 hours.
2 days USD15+0.2% of capital
3 Obtain tax registration number (Rol Unico Tributario) and give notice of initiation to Internal Revenue Service

Before starting activities, the company must submit a declaration to the Internal Revenue Service that contains a description of the nature of its proposed activities, its domicile, and its amount of capital. The procedure usually takes 1 day or less if all required legal documentation is in order (notarized articles of incorporation and power of attorney, registrations, property title or lease agreement for offices, etc.). The company must also register for VAT through the Internal Revenue Service, which implemented an electronic registration system to obtain the tax number via the Internet.
Under Law No. 20.494, which came into effent on February 27, 2011, the Revenue Service authorizes the use of electronic invoicing and the use of the "initial invoice" upon obtaining the tax registration number.
1 day no charge
4 Print receipts/invoices in the authorized printing company


1 day USD 43 per 50-page book
5 Seal accounting books, invoices and other documents at the IRS

Invoice and receipt forms can be sealed only after the tax registration number (rol unico tributario, or RUT) has been obtained, because the RUT must appear on them. So, this procedure is generally carried out once the forms are duly printed.
1 day no charge
* 6 Obtain a "patente municipal" working license from the competent municipality

Decree Law 3063/1979 rules that any profession, activity, industry, commerce, art, or any other profitable activity, independent of its denomination, must obtain a working license from the municipality. A separate license must be obtained from the corresponding municipality for each of the enterprise’s establishments, offices, warehouses, and so forth. The license fee is paid once a year for a 12-month period, from July 1st to June 30th, or otherwise, in two installments (one per semester). The fee ranges from 0.25% to 0.5% of the contributor’s capital, measured in monthly tributary units (unidades tributarias mensuales), ranging from a minimum of 1 UTM (1 UTM since February 2010 = 36,569) to a maximum of 8,000 UTM. There is no inspection fee.

Law No. 20.494, which came into effect on February 27 2011, established the obligation for municipalities to provide a temporary or permanent working license to new companies immediately upon request. The municipality has the authority to conduct ex-post inspections once the company has started operating.
1 day, simultaneous with previous procedure no charge
* 7 Register with the labor-related accident insurance (Seguro Social contra Riesgos de Accidentes del Trabajo y Enfermedades Profesionales) at the Mutuales de Seguridad

According to Law 16,744, professional accident insurance is obligatory for any employee, regardless the activity, services rendered, or the nature of the employer. This insurance program is administered by the National Health Service (Servicio Nacional de Salud) and by the Social Insurance Service (Servicio del Seguro Social), public authorities that mainly administer premiums for public employees. In both cases, the insurance premiums are paid in to the Instituto de Normalización Provisional. However, private nonprofit entities known as Mutualidades de Empleadores may also administer insurance for the employees of their members, which are generally private companies.
1 day, simultaneous with previous procedure no charge
* Takes place simultaneously with another procedure.
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