Register at the One-stop shop
Agency: State Register of the Legal Entities of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Armenia
Documents required for registration are:
- Company’s charter;
- Decision of owners to open a new LLC.
In March 2011, the Business Entry One-stop Shop was launched within the Ministry of Justice. Companies and individual entrepreneurs can now obtain the name reservation, business registration and tax identification number at a single location and at the same time. An application for a taxpayer identification number is filed to tax authority at the one-stop shop and the TIN is issued by the State Registrar. Since January 2019, VAT registration can take place a year after a business exceeds the threshold of AMD 58.35 million. Starting from January 2018, entrepreneurs can opt for voluntary VAT registration within the application for company registration. In that case, no additional follow up or interaction is required in order to complete the VAT registration, and VAT number (same as TIN, with additional number “1” at the end) will be included in the incorporation certificate.
The legal time limit is 2 working days but the application may be dealt with in one day if entrepreneurs decide to use the templates provided by the Ministry of Justice. However, these templates are limited and are designed for simple cases; therefore, most companies with 5 and more founders would prefer to draft their own founding documents.
Electronic registration is available at www.e-register.am/am but it is not commonly used in practice, mainly due to the requirement to obtain e-signature, which implies additional cost and time. When registration is done online, founder(s) still need to visit the registry in order to obtain hard copy of the incorporation documents.
Time and cost: 2 days, no charge
Order a company seal
Agency: Seal maker
According to the law, obtaining a company seal in not mandatory. However, entrepreneurs obtain the company’s seal that may be asked during the operations of the company. For example, several banks require the seal when opening a bank account as well as public notaries.
The fee for seal issuance varies according to turnaround time as following.
- The same day: average AMD 15,500.
- 30 days: average AMD 2,800.
In order to obtain the seal, you need to submit to the seal maker company the following documents: copy of registration certificate, copy of the charter of the company, the outline of the seal or stamp, copy of trademark registration certificate if there is a registered trademark which you wish to have on the seal.
Time and cost: 1 day, AMD 15,50
Register employees
Agency: Tax Service
In accordance with the Tax Code of RA, a company has to register all employees with the Tax authorities no later than the day preceding the hiring or by 2.00 p.m. on the day of the hiring. The registration is done online (www.taxservice.am) using a specific registration form.
In order to fill out the form, an electronic signature is necessary. Electronic signature can be obtained through the private company “Ekeng”, and it takes several days to obtain and costs an annual fee of AMD 3000. In addition, a card reader is needed for the e-signature.
Therefore, in the absence of electronic signature entrepreneurs prefer to register employees through their accountant, who would already have an electronic signature. The entrepreneur gives a power of attorney to the accountant to represent the company, and the accountant registers employees online.
Time and cost: 1 day, no charge
