How to start business in Azerbaijan?
- Emil Khudiyev (Lawyer)
- 0 comment
Azerbaijan is a democratic republic, with a well-known and rich history, culture, legacy, natural resources like petroleum & gas.
Located between Asia and Europe and with important neighbors like Russia, Turkey, Georgia and Iran, also sea exits to the Caspian Sea with Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan as a sea-border neighbours.
Day by day Azerbaijan proves and strengthens it’s position on the international arena by rapid economic development and by liberalization of many processes, like legal, financial, social and procedural.
Fast development made Azerbaijan a country with high potential and a stable economy which attracts investors worldwide interested in discovering forceful industries to generate money.
Famous international rating Doing Business rated Azerbaijan as 34 among 190 countries in their last report (Doing Business 2020).
Among sectors with full growth potential agriculture, tourism, the petroleum industry, energy, and manufacturing, where entrepreneurs can establish their companies and activities.
So how to start business in Azerbaijan? First let’s talk about the types of companies in Azerbaijan.
Types of companies in Azerbaijan
Foreign investors who want to start a business in Azerbaijan can choose between the following variants:
- Partnerships which can be general or limited and are suitable for small business operations;
- private and public companies (LLC, CJSC, OJSC) which are the most popular business forms in Azerbaijan;
- subsidiaries and branch offices which are the best way to set up operations as a foreign company in Azerbaijan.
Choosing the type of entity should be considered before starting the incorporation procedure. As a Lawyer in Azerbaijan (Baku) I can assist you to set up businesses in Azerbaijan and help to choose an appropriate business form.
How to open a company in Azerbaijan?
Just like in any other country, the company setup process in Azerbaijan must be completed by following a few simple steps. These are:
- Choosing and reserving the company name which is subject to a few requirements;
- Drafting the company’s statutory documents (in Azerbaijani language), legalizing and translating foreign documents;
- Submitting the registration documents and company certificates to the relevant Tax authority.
Upon formal registration, the following steps must be taken before the actual start of business operations in Azerbaijan:
- Getting the ASAN imza (ASAN signature) for the director of the company;
- Opening bank accounts in local Azerbaijani banks;
- Registration of the director’s employment agreement at the state registry.
What documents are required to open a company in Azerbaijan?
The Following documents and steps are necessary to complete formal registration of the company:
– Application Form – provided by the State Tax Service (registration authority of legal entities). These document needs to be notarized.
– Company documents – Charter of a company, resolution of shareholders or founder on the establishment of a company and appointment of legal representative (director, general manager & etc).
– Information about the shareholders, founders – IDs, passports of founders. If the owners (shareholders) are foreign legal entities, Articles of Association, Memorandum, and Certificate from trade registry are also required.
– Power of attorney – in case another person represents shareholders or founders and the director of the company, each of them should provide a notarized copy of the power of attorney.
– State duty and charter capital payment receipt – official registration fee for new company is 15 manats (AZN) and must be paid in advance before incorporation. State duty for registration of representative offices and branches of foreign legal entity is 300 manats (AZN). The charter capital must be paid within 3 months of company registration, provided that this has been prescribed by the charter.
All of these documents must be submitted to the Legal Entity Registration Department of the State Taxes Service.
What happens after the company is set up?
During 5 working days your application is being reviewed by the State Tax Service and after that by using this link you can check whether your firm is ready.
After a company is being set up, a few months after the company registration in Azerbaijan, it is required to get in touch with the Tax Service to declare the profits of the entity.
How EMZE can help you?
Clients refer to me to register a company in Azerbaijan in the shortest time period with full legal support, including legal address (virtual office) service and bank accounts opening.
If you want to start a business in Azerbaijan it is quite simple to incorporate the selected legal entity. Just Call Emil!
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