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Registration of companies in Russia

MAIN LAWS ON COMPANY REGISTRATION IN RUSSIA:

Company registration in Russia is regulated by the Civil Code of the Russian Federation (November 30, 1994), the Federal Law “On Registration of Legal Entities and Sole Proprietors” (August 8, 2001) and the Federal Law “On Limited Liability Companies” (February 8, 1998).

MAIN BUSINESS LEGAL STRUCTURES IN RUSSIA:

• LLC (Limited Liability Company). 
• JSC (Joint-Stock Company – Public/Non-public).
• Representative Office/Branch. 

To choose which legal structure of business in Russia is best for you, you can order us to draw up a legal report, in which we compare pros and cons, as well as tax burden of a certain legal structure.

NAME OF LLC IN RUSSIA:

Name of a company is not checked in Russia.

The companies may have equal names, but the registration documents will contain different OGRN numbers (OGRN is the main state registration number). 

Use of such words as “Russia”, “Russian Federation” or “Moscow” or their abridgments is possible only subject to the permit of the government of the Russian Federation and payment of 100 minimum monthly wages or up to 0.5 percent of the value of the sold products (services, works) depending on the kind of activities conducted.

MINIMUM AUTHORIZED CAPITAL OF AN LLC IN RUSSIA:

 A minimum authorized capital of an LLC in Russia is 10,000 RUB (approximately 140 EUR).

MAIN SERVICES OF REGISTRATION OF A COMPANY IN RUSSIA:

1. Preparation of constituent documents of an LLC;
2. Registration of an LLC in tax authorities;
3. Ordering and receiving of a seal of an LLC;
4. Registration of data of an LLC in extra-budgetary funds;
5. Opening of current accounts for an LLC in Russia and abroad.

BACKGROUND DATA REQUIRED FOR REGISTRATION OF AN LLC IN RUSSIA*:

1. Company name;
2. Registered address (can be provided by us);
3. Participant’s data (name, citizenship, passport/company’s constituent documents);
4. Amount of the authorized capital;
5. Kinds of activities;
6. Chosen bank in Russia and kinds of accounts to be opened therewith;
7. Selection of the taxation system (common, simplified);
8. Other documents and data at the request of the experts of ALPS & CHASE.*

*All of the documents must be provided in advance, so we have time to translate them into Russian.

All provided documents must be notarized and legalized in Russian Embassy of a participant’s (shareholder’s) country or apostilled according to Hague Convention of 1961 by the relevant authorities after notarization.

For the participants from CIS countries (Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Armenia, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, and Georgia), no apostilization or legalization of the documents is required according to the Minsk Convention on Legal Assistance and Legal Relations in Civil, Family and Criminal Cases (dated January 23, 1993) (note – depending on the kind of legal actions, there can be some exceptions in the document apostilization rules).

PRESENCE OF THE PARTICIPANTS DURING REGISTRATION OF A COMPANY:

 In Russia, one can submit the documents to the taxation authorities for registration of an LLC with notary’s EDS.

Signature of the documents is possible in case of personal presence at the notary’s office in Russia or through consular institution of the Russian Federation abroad.

You can receive the documents from a tax inspectorate personally or through a proxy from ALPS&CHASE.

The presence of a Director General is necessary only at the opening of bank accounts (signature of the documents and bank cards).

TERM OF REGISTRATION OF AN LLC IN RUSSIA:

 Registration of an LLC in Russia takes around 3 business days from the time of submission of the translated and properly executed documents to the Russian authorities. It is possible to purchase an existing company.

APPOINTMENT OF A DIRECTOR GENERAL IN RUSSIA

You can appoint either a Russian citizen or a foreign citizen to a position of a Director General. 

A fine for lack of work permit for a foreign citizen is from 630 USD (for individuals) and up to 19,000 USD with an administrative expulsion or without one (for entities).

If you have no time to obtain a work permit for a Director General or you need their permanent presence in Russia for settlement of administrative matters, our company will provide you with the service of temporary directors.

Our directors can perform various tasks, interact with the tax inspectorate, customs or the banks. 

The main requirement to use this service is a complete legality of your business.

OTHER SERVICES IN THE AREA OF REGISTRATION OF A BUSINESS PRESENCE IN RUSSIA:

Registration of a branch and a representative office in Russia

Registration of a permanent establishment in Russia

Registration of a joint-stock company in Russia

Purchase of an existing company in Russia