Lao PDR

Starting a Business in

Lao PDR

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 Liability Company
  • City: Vientiane

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No. Procedure Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 Apply for a Name Reservation Certificate

It is required to obtain a Name Reservation Certificate from the Enterprise Registry Office ("ERO") within the Ministry of Industry and Commerce ("MOIC"). All companies are required to obtain a Name Reservation Certificate before applying to the ERO for an Enterprise Registration Certificate. A completed Application for Reservation of Company Name, listing three potential names for the company to be established, and a signed Contract of Incorporation (if there are multiple shareholders) in the format approved by the MOIC must be submitted to the ERO in order to obtain a Name Reservation Certificate.
1 day LAK 10,000
2 Apply for an Enterprise Registration Certificate

Founders shall present an application to form and register the company to the Enterprise Registry Office in the Domestic Commerce Department, Ministry of Industry and Commerce. Upon receipt of an application, the Enterprise Registry Office and other concerned sector agencies shall rapidly make a determination (within 10 days). If the proposed type of business is listed in the restricted register, the Enterprise Registry Office must immediately forward the application to the relevant sector in the responsible ministry. The sector authority must make a determination within 10 working days, except for some types of business that require more time for technical or substantive inspection. Subsequently, according to Article 14 of the Enterprise Law, the Enterprise Registry Office must make a determination on whether to issue the enterprise registration within 3 working days.
10 days LAK 10,000 (Incorporation form) + LAK 70,000 (Application form) + LAK 300,000 (Registration Service Fee)
3 Apply for an Operating License from revelant Ministry

Only companies with sensitive activities must obtain prior approval from the relevant line ministries before registering with the Ministry of Industry and Commerce. The Registrar also approves the articles of association during the company registration process at the Ministry of Industry and Commerce.
It is required to obtain an operating license as part of the business startup process. According the existing regulations, this operating license shall be issued within 30 days of the day of entrepreneurs’ submission of applications.

 30 days LAK 50,000
* 4 Apply for a Tax Registration Certificate

Enterprises operating in Lao PDR are subject to direct and indirect taxes. Direct taxes are profit tax, income tax, and fees. Indirect taxes are business turnover tax and use tax. Once a Tax Registration Certificate is obtained, it must be renewed annually. The fee for the Tax Registration Certificate depends on the annual income of the Company. The fee for a company with an annual business turnover of US $58,000 is 150,000 LAK. The application fee is 25,000 LAK.
2 weeks (simultaneous with previous procedure) LAK 25,000 (application form) + LAK 100,000 (tax certificate)
* 5 Obtain Approval of Company Sign

Companies must obtain approval from the Ministry of Information and Culture before making a sign with the company name. The official fee is based on a cost per square centimeter, depending on the type of sign. The application cost is 10,000 LAK.
5 days (simultaneous with previous procedure) LAK 10,000
6 Carve a company seal

The application form for making the company seal is 10,000 LAK, The cost for the certificate authorizing the design in 60,000 LAK. The carving of a seal in Lao language only is 50,000 LAK, and the carving of a seal in Lao and in another language is 53,000 LA. The total time takes around 45 days.
45 days LAK 120,000 for Lao language and LAK 123,000 for Lao and other languages
7 Register the workers for social security

The application form to register workers for social security insurance is available at the agency in charge of registration. Employees and employers must participate in the compulsory social security regime. They may not enter into mutual agreements to avoid participation in the social security regime. The social security regime for company employees is established on the principle of state-guaranteed insurance. Contributions to the social security regime are paid by both the employers and employees: 5.0% of gross salary is to be contributed for social security by the employer and another 4.5%, by the employee. The maximum ceiling for calculating these contributions is LAK 1,500,000 (5% and 4.5% of LAK 1,500,000).
7 days no charge
* Takes place simultaneously with another procedure.
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