Steps to start a business
Company registration
- Pursuant to the general rule, it takes 1-2 days.
- The most common type of business entity is a limited liability company.
- There can be 1 participant.
- It is required to have a registered office address and its confirmation from the owner of the premises.
- There are no requirements to the minimum capital and to the terms of its contribution.
Registration of a sole proprietor (an individual entrepreneur)
- It takes 1 day.
- It is required to have a local registration address and its confirmation from the owner of the premises.
- To register a sole proprietorship, only a passport is required.
Opening a bank account
It is the most complicated procedure, uncertain in terms of time and the set of documents necessary to submit to the bank.
- The term for a sole proprietor can take several days.
- The term for LLC goes on case-by-case basis.
In addition to the questionnaire, the bank documents on the company's turnover in other jurisdictions, list of counterparties, service contracts with companies, office lease, lists and copies of employees’ passports as well as other documents may be required.
Check with the lawyers immediately before starting the procedure for details.
Registration as an international company
An international company is a Georgian legal entity, which provides certain types of services abroad and receives income solely from this activity (it is allowed to receive less than 2% of income from other activities).
Requirements:
- A minimum of 2-year experience in IT sphere in certain types of activities
- Ensure that the company has a real presence in Georgia
Benefits:
- International company is exempt from income and profit tax on dividend distribution.
- Income tax on salaries of employees of an international company is reduced from 20% to 5%.
- Exempt from property tax (excluding land tax) if the property is to be used or used for an approved for an international company activity.
- 5% is corporate income tax, payable on profit distribution.
- 2% is a pension fund tax on resident employees.
For more details on the status of international company, see our material below.
Obtaining the status of a person in the virtual zone
A virtual zone person status can be granted to a company registered in Georgia and engaged in IT activities (research, maintenance, development, design, production and implementation of computer information systems resulting in the creation of software products).
Profit taxes and VAT:
- If information technologies were created on the territory of Georgia and were sold abroad.
- Profit tax — 0%, VAT — 0%
- If the work is done for a Georgian client, including the Georgian branch of a foreign company.
- Profit tax — 15%, VAT — 18%
- Other taxes:
- 5% — dividend tax
- 20% — income tax on employees
- 2% — tax to the pension fund from the resident employees
For more information on the status of the person of the virtual zone, see our material below.
We will be happy to accompany you every stage of the way
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Projects
Gurtam
Consulting on issues of doing business in Georgia: developing a strategy for entering the market, determining the legal model of construction business, consulting on special legal regimes.
IT company with offices in 17 countries worldwide
Legal support was needed for the company's entry into the new jurisdictions, including Georgia, Cyprus, Poland, and Kazakhstan. Assistance to new R&D centers on corporate and tax issues. The opinions on special regimes for IT businesses in Kazakhstan (Astana Hub), Russia (Skolkovo, Innopolis), and the UAE (free zones) have been provided to enable the company to be successfull in new market entry.
Railway logistics operator
REVERA helped the client to choose a jurisdiction for business expansion and potential redomiciliation from Lithuania.The project required analysis of labour, tax, customs and corporate aspects.
Leader of the confectionery industry from the global TOP-10
Assisting the client in comprehensive counterparty analysis when setting up foreign trade activities in the Caucasus region.
Corporate structure for international IT-holding
REVERA was responsible for optimising the corporate structure and selecting the most efficient cooperation between the client's groups of companies in the USA, the Netherlands and Georgia. The project required expertise in international corporate law and taxation.
Global Travel Brand
Advising an international tour operator on the formats of presence and the algorithm of launching a business in Georgia with a focus on tax and labor issues.