Applies to women only: Obtain marriage certificate for national identification card
Agency: Municipality
To obtain a national identity card, married women in Benin need to present a certified copy of marriage certificate. Additionally, women must have a national ID when registering a business.
Legalized marriage certificates can be obtained from the Municipality (Mairie de Cotonou) in 1 day on average. There is a stamp fee of XOF 300. If done with a notary, this procedure will cost on average XOF 5,000.
Time and cost: 1 day, XOF 300
Verify the uniqueness of the company name
Agency: One-Stop Shop (Agence de Promotion des Investissements et des Exportations – APIEX)
In Benin, as in all member countries of the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa (OHADA), any company must choose a unique company name before it is registered in the trade register. Checking the company name can now be done online, although this option is not the most commonly adopted one (www.gufebenin.org).
Time and cost: 1 day, notary service fees include name verification charges
Deposit the capital in a bank and activate the bank account
Agency: Bank
The entrepreneur needs to open and activate a Bank Account to deposit the company’s share capital. The operator will then obtain a receipt and an “attestation” from the bank, which will be necessary for the formalities at APIEX.
Time and cost: 1 day, no charge
Register the company at the One-Stop Shop (Agence de Promotion des Investissements et des Exportations – APIEX)
Agency: One-Stop Shop (Agence de Promotion des Investissements et des Exportations – APIEX)
Companies must be registered at the One-Stop Shop (APIEX), which was initially created by Decree N° 2009-542 of October 20, 2009. The One-Stop Shop became operational on March 26, 2012. It allows entrepreneurs to register with the commercial registry and the tax authority, the Labor directorate (Direction Générale du Travail) and the Directorate of commerce (Direction Générale du Commerce Intérieur et la Direction Générale du Commerce Extérieur) at one place.
The costs are the following: 12,000 XOF for the commercial registry (cout de greffier) + 5,000 XOF for the business license (carte professionelle du commerçant)
Time and cost: 4 days, XOF 12,000 registration costs + XOF 5,000 for the trader card
Register the company and its employees with Social Security (Caisse Nationale de Securité Sociale – CNSS)
Agency: Caisse Nationale de Securité Sociale (CNSS)
A newly registered company must register with Social Security at the CNSS within 3 months of incorporation.
Time and cost: 1 day, no charge
Register the company with the Tax Authorities (Direction Nationale des Impots et des Domaines)
Agency: Direction Nationale des Impôts et des Domaines
All new businesses must declare their existence (déclaration d’enregistrement aux impots) to the tax authorities (Direction Nationale des Impots et des Domaines) within 20 days of the start of the business activity. This is required to update the records of the Direction Nationale des Impots et des Domaines (DNID) in order to ensure that taxpayers are compliant with tax obligations.
In order to register, the documents to be submitted are the fiscal number (IFU), the number of employees and the business license (carte du commerçant). The DNID tax agency will conduct a site visit to ensure that the address provided is correct.
Time and cost: 1 day, no charge
