How To Start A Business in Comoros
Doing Business in Comoros
Below is a detailed summary of the bureaucratic and legal hurdles faced by entrepreneurs wishing to incorporate and register a new firm in Comoros. It examines the procedures, time and cost involved in launching a commercial or industrial firm with between 10 and 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 189 economies. The most recent round of data collection was completed in June 2015.
Starting a business in Comoros takes approximately 24 days as compared to about 46 days for the Sub-Saharan Africa region. This piece outlines the general technical procedures for starting a business in Comoros, according to the Doingbusiness.org database by the World Bank. It includes details and requirements to be in good standing with all relevant agencies beyond the company registrar like social security agencies.
Use this as a guide while you complete the process and consult with agents carrying out work on your behalf. Additional notes may be found here.
Technical Procedures
The steps involved in starting a business (Limited Liability Company) in Comoros are:
- Deposit the legally required capital in a bank and obtain the deposit evidence.
- Verify and reserve the company name.
- Deposit and register the company’s articles of association with the public notary.
- Obtain extracts of criminal records of the directors.
- Deposit company statutes at the Ministry of Finance.
- Register the company at the commercial court.
Note: Just before you begin the process to start a business, confirm details with knowledgeable entities. Policies and procedures may alter between the time of this publication and when you start the process. The World Bank provides a list of local partners that helped collect and document business-related procedures here.
|
No.
|
Procedure
|
Time to Complete
|
Associated Costs
|
|
|
1
|
Verify and reserve the company name
Agency: Registry
Business founders can verify and reserve the company name at the Registry free of charge.
|
1 day
|
no charge
|
|
|
2
|
Deposit and register the company’s articles of association with the public notary
Agency: Public Notary
All new businesses must deposit and register the company’s articles of association with the public notary.
|
1 day
|
KMF 22,500 for the authentification of the statutes and the statement of deposit
|
|
|
3
|
Deposit company statutes at Ministry of Finance
Agency: Ministry of Finance
Depositing company statutes at Ministry of Finance costs KMF 15,000+ KMF 500 for stamp duty per page (3 copies of the statutes; 10 pages per statute).
|
2 days
|
KMF 15,000+ KMF 500 for stamp duty per page (3 copies of the statutes; 10 pages per statute)
|
|
|
4
|
Register the company at the commercial court
Agency: Commercial Court
To register a company at the Commercial Court, the following documents are required:
• The list of managers, administrators, or associates with the power to act on behalf of the company (two copies).
• The property title or lease agreement.
• Capital declaration.
• Copies of the statutes certified by FIS.
• Managers’ criminal records.
Although the requirement to publish the statutes in the Official Journal is mandated by the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa (Organisation pour l'Harmonisation du Droit des Affaires en Afrique, OHADA), this requirement is not observed because (a) the Official Journal does not function consistently; and (b) the publication fee has not been published; thus, the registrar has no power to charge for publication. There are other daily and weekly journals in which to publish. At the directors’ discretion, they may opt to publish in other daily and weekly journals.
|
1 day
|
KMF 10,000
|
|
|
5
|
Obtain the professional license (patente) at the tax administration
Agency: Tax administration
The professional license may be obtained at a fee of 10% of the annual lease value plus a fixed fee, according to the table of activities (e.g., KMF 150,000 for a general wholesale retailer), plus 10% of said percentage and fee combined as an additional tax (centime additionelle commune).
|
8 days on average
|
see comments
|
|
*
|
6
|
Legalize the company books at court
Agency: Court
All new businesses must legalize their company books at court.
|
7 days on average (simultaneous with previous procedure)
|
KMF 1,000 per book
|
|
|
7
|
Make a company seal
Agency: Sealmaker
KMF 12,500 is charged by Studio Med, one of the most common private seal makers in Moroni.
|
2 days
|
KMF 12,500
|
|
*
|
8
|
Register for social security
Agency: Social security
All new businesses must register for social security.
|
1 day (simultaneous with previous procedure)
|
no charge
|