Cote D'Ivoire Info
Joined: 27 Feb 2007
Posts: 13
Home Country: ivorycoast
|
 Posted: Tue Feb 27, 2007 10:35 am Post subject: DOING BUSINESS COTE D'IVOIRE / COTE D'IVOIRE BUSINESS GUIDE |
 |
|
DOING BUSINESS COTE D'IVOIRE
STARTING A BUSINESS
STANDARDIZED COMPANY
Legal Form: Société à Responsabilité Limitée (SARL) - Limited Liability Company
Minimum Capital Requirement: 1,000,000
City: Abidjan
Registration Requirements:
Procedure 1. Deposit the initial capital in a bank and obtain a receipt
Time to complete: 1 day
Cost to complete: no charge
Procedure 2. Obtain two extracts of the criminal record of the founders
Time to complete: 4 days
Cost to complete: CFA 3000
Procedure 3. A notary certifies the paid-in capital
Time to complete: 2 days
Cost to complete: 10% of initial capital (including notary fees, registration and stamps cost)
Comment: The notary draws up a notary statement ("declaration notariée de suscription et de versement (DNSV)") to ascertain the deposit and subscription of the initial capital. The company founder may either deposit the initial capital to the bank and upon issuing of the receipt, requires the notary to draw up the DNSV or make such deposit directly to the notary who will set up the DNSV.
When the Articles of Association is not be established bay a notarial deed, they shall be deposited in a notary's office for certification of the writing and signatures.
Procedure 4. Register with the Direction de l'Enregistrement et du Timbre
Time to complete: 7 days
Cost to complete: 0.6% of capital + CFA 500 per page of articles of incorporation (stamp duty), included in the previous procedure
Comment: Registration with Direction de l'Enregistrement et du Timbre shall take place within one month from the date put on the articles of incorporation, otherwise the registration and stamp duty will double.
Cost: 0.6% of capital if less than CFA 5 million, beyond CFA 5 million: 0,2% of capital
Procedure 5. File documents with the Court's Clerk Office (Greffe du Tribunal) with the Registre du Commerce et du Crédit Mobilier (RCCM)
Time to complete: 11 days
Cost to complete: CFA 55000
Comment: Costs include:
1. five printed forms "Declaration de constitution de société" (M0 and M0bis) - no charge (the form can be picked up in the Chamber of Commerce and Industry and save the time of waiting for Court's Clerk to fill them out);
2. cost of deposit of articles of association and DSNV) : 10,000 CFA (5.000 CFA per deposit);
3. fees of Commercial Court's Clerk 50.000 CFA. For any deposit of a document at the RCCM, a fixed fee of CFA 5.000 shall be paid.
The following documents shall be attached to the application:
- 5 printed copies of the form "Declaration de constitution de société" (M0 and M0bis) (forms are free and available at the RCCM or Chamber of Commerce and Industry),
- 2 originals or certified copies of the articles of association,
- 2 originals of the DNSV,
- 2 originals of the subscription list,
- 2 originals or certified copies of the resolution designating the managers,
-2 originals extracts of the criminal record of the managers delivered by the Ivorian authorities; where the managers are not Ivorian, an original extract of their criminal record delivered by their native country's authorities is also required or an equivalent document.
Procedure 6. Publish the formation notice in the Official Gazette or legal journal
Time to complete: 3 days
Cost to complete: CFA 75000
Comment: Publication of a company formation notice in the official gazette "Journal officiel" or a newspaper shall be accomplished within a period of fifteen days following registration. The insertion of the legal notice, signed by the notary or by the founders costs 6 000 CFA/line; the total cost depends of the number of lines of the notice
Procedure 7. Legalization of the copies of newspaper publication by the local council services
Time to complete: 2 days
Cost to complete: CFA 2400
Comment: Three specimen of the newspaper are bought for 600 CFA and their authentication cost 1.500 CFA. Representatives from the respective legal journal have to attend to the authentication of the copy which contains the notice.
Procedure 8. File a declaration of commencement of business (Déclaration Fiscale d'Existence) with the Tax Department, Ministry of Economy and Finance
Time to complete: 10 days
Cost to complete: CFA 5000
Comment: The company has to register with the tax authorities within 10 days following the starting of business. The formality triggers the payment in advance of the business license tax. The declaration covers all taxes. Once the company files the "Declaration d'existence fiscale", it gets a tax payer account "numéro de compte contribuable". The local tax office calculates the amount of the business license tax on the basis of the registered capital, the estimated annual turnover, the cost of the premises' rent or an estimation of the value of the premises if their belong to the company.
Procedure 9. Register with the Labor Department
Time to complete: 1 day
Cost to complete: no charge
Comment: The company newly formed shall inform the Labour Department and send a letter to that effect.
Procedure 10. Register the employees with the National Social Security Fund (CNPS)
Time to complete: 1 day
Cost to complete: no charge
Comment: With the computerization of the CNPS, the registration number ("numéro matricule CNPS") is automatically delivered to the entrepreneur.
Procedure 11. Obtain a company seal
Time to complete: 3 days
Cost to complete: CFA 10000
LEGAL FORMS OF COMPANIES
Private Limited Company
Number of partners/shareholders:
No minimum.
Minimum and/or maximum capital:
Minimum capital of CFA 500,000.
Liability:
Liability is limited to the amount contributed.
Registration fee:
0.6% of the capital up to CFA 5 billion then 0.2% beyond this amount.
Public Limited Company
Number of partners/shareholders:
Minimum 7 partners.
Minimum and/or maximum capital:
Minimum capital of CFA 1 million.
Liability:
Liability is limited to the amount contributed.
Registration fee:
0.6% of the capital up to CFA 5 billion then 0.2% beyond this amount.
General Partnership.
Number of partners/shareholders:
No minimum.
Minimum and/or maximum capital:
No minimum capital.
Liability:
Liability is limited to the amount contributed.
Registration fee:
0.6% of the capital up to CFA 5 billion then 0.2% beyond this amount.
Limited Partnership.
Number of partners/shareholders:
Minimum 2 partners.
Two types of partners: sleeping partners and active partners.
Minimum and/or maximum capital:
No minimum capital.
Liability:
Liability of active partners is unlimited. Liability of sleeping partners is limited to the amount contributed.
Registration fee:
0.6% of the capital up to CFA 5 billion then 0.2% beyond this amount.
TAXATION
From the end of May 2001, as some order was restored after the coup attempt in January, the government began instituting and planning reforms in tax structure and tax administration under the guidance of the IMF and the World Bank. The government wrote off tax arrears from prior to 1992 amounting to about €460 million. Most domestic state revenues come from indirect taxes on imports and exports, and on consumer products, and from business taxes. In 2002 the minimum 5% customs duty on all imports was extended.
The Côte d'Ivoire divides income into five categories according to its source-industrial and commercial profits, salaries and wages, marketable securities, land, and non-commercial profits. Each type is subject to its own specific tax. Individuals are taxed on their total income from all categories under the progressive General Income Tax (IGR), which takes into account the number and type of persons in the taxpayer's household.
Companies pay a tax for Industrial and Commercial Benefits (BIC) at a rate of 35% of profits. Individually-owned companies pay 25%. The tax on capital gains is included in the corporate tax. The New Code for Investments of 1995 offers programs of tax holidays, exemptions and reductions as incentives for foreign investment. Subsidiaries of foreign corporations are subject to withholding tax of 12% (18% if the profit is exempt from corporate tax). The withholding tax on income from royalties is 10% and from interest, 15%. Dividends to non-residents are subject to 18% withholding, but this may be reduced to 10% or 12%. All withholding taxes may be reduced or eliminated by the terms of bilateral double-taxation prevention agreements. The Côte d'Ivoire has double-tax treaties with about 20 countries, the United States not included among them. There is a real estate tax and a tax on capital gains from securities. Otherwise capital and capital gains are not taxed.
The main indirect tax is the value-added tax (VAT), which, as of 2 July 2001, was set at the unified rate of 20% with the abolition of the reduced rate of 11%. Supplies to ships and aircraft are exempt from VAT. Also levied is a tax on service provided (TSP) of 10% on certain financial and other services, a business franchise tax, a petroleum products tax, a tax on automobiles (50%-100%). |
|
Register
Log in
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
