Registration of a representative office of a foreign company: step-by-step instruction
The representative office of a foreign organization is a separate division of a foreign organization located in the Republic of Belarus. Representation of a foreign organization is not a legal entity, but only protects and represents the interests of a foreign organization and other functions that do not contradict the law.
Preparations for the opening of a representative office in the Republic of Belarus
Before contacting the registration authority of a foreign organization, you must:
decide on the purpose of creating a representative office; it should be remembered that it is not allowed to create representative offices of foreign organizations whose activities are aimed at overthrowing or forcibly changing the constitutional order, violating the integrity and security of the state, propaganda of war, violence, inciting ethnic, religious and racial hatred, as well as the activities of which could harm rights and the legitimate interests of citizens;
locate the representative office;
approve the regulation on representation;
non-profit organizations need to develop a program of activities and determine the timing of its implementation; this program is a set of measures to solve specific problems corresponding to the purpose of opening a representative office of a non-profit foreign organization, providing deadlines and resources for such activities;
draw up a power of attorney to the head of the representative office;
draw up a power of attorney to a person authorized to carry out actions related to the opening of a representative office (if there is such a person);
pay the state fee, which is 65 base units for each year of the permit to open a representative office of a commercial organization and 20 base units for each year of the permit for representative offices of non-profit foreign organizations, as well as representative offices of foreign organizations that carry out exclusively charitable activities in the Republic of Belarus.
Submission of documents to the registration authority
For issuing a permit to open representative offices of foreign organizations, it is necessary to contact the regional (Minsk city) executive committee at the location of the proposed representative office of a foreign organization.
For this, a foreign organization submits the following documents:
an application for a permit to open a representative office of a foreign organization in the prescribed form, signed by an authorized person of that organization;
legalized extract from the trade register of the country of establishment or other equivalent proof of the legal status of the organization or governing body of the administrative-territorial unit of a foreign state in accordance with the legislation of the country of establishment or a notarized copy of these documents (the extract must be dated no later than three months before the day it is submitted to the register organ);
the regulations on the representative office of a foreign organization approved by this foreign organization, which indicate the purpose (s) of opening the representative office, its location, organizational structure, competence of the head of this representative office, the procedure for terminating the representative office;
the program of the representative office on the letterhead of a foreign organization in the prescribed form (for non-profit foreign organizations)
notarized power of attorney for the head of the representative office of a foreign organization and a person authorized to carry out actions related to the opening of a representative office of a foreign organization (if any). These documents may not be submitted if the head of the representative office of a foreign organization or a person authorized to carry out actions related to the opening of a representative office of a foreign organization is the head of a foreign organization and information on this is contained in a legalized extract from the trade register of the country of establishment or an equivalent document;
a document confirming the payment of the state fee for issuing a permit to open a representative office of a foreign organization.
Consideration of documents by the registration authority
The Executive Committee considers the submitted documents and makes a decision on issuing (refusing to issue) a permit within 30 days. If necessary, additional information can be extended up to 2 months.
Obtaining permission to open a representative office
A representative office of a foreign organization is considered created and has the right to carry out activities on the territory of the Republic of Belarus from the moment of obtaining permission to open it in the manner prescribed by law. The date of issuing permission to open a representative office of a foreign organization is the date the executive committee made the decision to issue such a permit. The date of obtaining permission to open a representative office of a foreign organization is indicated on the back of the permit and in the journal of representative offices of foreign organizations in the Republic of Belarus, which is maintained by the executive committee.
A permit is issued for a period of 3 years, after which it can be extended for the same period.
Submission of information to the registration authority
A foreign organization that has opened a representative office is required to be registered with the tax authorities, the Social Security Fund of the Republic of Belarus and other bodies (organizations) of the Republic of Belarus, as well as open accounts in banks of the Republic of Belarus.
The representative office of a foreign organization is obliged to notify the executive committee of the staffing table, contact information of the representative office of a foreign organization, and also the registration of a foreign organization with the tax and other authorities (organizations) of the Republic of Belarus within a month from the date of issuing the permit.
