Setting up a manufacturing business in Belarus
Over the past ten years, Belarus has become more attractive than ever for those wishing to set up a production plant. This applies to both local population and foreign investors.
Advantages of opening production in the Republic of Belarus
First of all, Belarus is a “young” market undergoing the stage of active development. The Belarusian market looks like a “blank slate”: it is still being actively formed, and there is little competition. Secondly, Belarus is an active member of the international community, closely cooperating with Russia and China, and also rapidly approaching European countries. This favors a positive investment and market environment. For example, there are tariff preferences between the EAEU countries for the import and export of goods to/from Belarus. In addition to all the above-mentioned advantages, the procedure for opening a production facility in Belarus is quite simple. Foreign investors are entitled to establish commercial entities in Belarus with any volume of foreign investment and in any legal form provided for by the legislation of the Republic of Belarus, that is:
- unitary enterprise (UE)
- limited liability company (LLC)
- additional liability company (ALC)
- joint stock company (JSC)
- closed joint stock company (CJSC), or
- open joint stock company (OJSC)
The registration procedure is the same for all legal forms.
Registration stage
- Approving company name. This is the first step towards the opening of a production facility in Belarus. After making a decision to open a business and choosing a name (it must be unique in Belarus), you can choose to have it approved in either of the three ways: personally submit an application to the registration authority; send an application by mail; or register the name on the web portal (egr.gov.by).
- After the company name has been verified and approved, you’ll need to pay the state duty. The state duty for the registration of a business entity amounts to 1 (one) basic unit — 29 Belarusian rubles (ca. 11 US dollars).
- The principal stage involves the submission of documents to a local executive body. This stage can also be carried out in two ways: the founder(s) may submit documents in person to the executive authority, or choose to submit documents in electronic form with an EDS key. The required documents are: passports of the founders and copies thereof (if necessary, with a certified translation of passports), powers of attorney (where our lawyers are acting as attorneys-in-fact for registration purposes); application for registration; entity charter in two copies without certification, an electronic copy thereof (in .doc or .rtf format); and confirmation of payment of the state duty.
- After your entity has been included in the company register of the Republic of Belarus, you’ll need to obtain a company seal and open a bank account.
Period of registration
A new production enterprise will be registered by an executive body on the same day when the paper application has been filed, or within 1 working day where the documents have been submitted in electronic form.
The team of Borius Consulting LLC will assist you with registration formalities promptly (within at most 2 business days) and in a workmanlike manner. We assist in opening manufacturing businesses in the Republic of Belarus, as well as provide all necessary consultations and clarifications.