Verify and reserve the company name
Agency: Commercial Registry
Business founders can verify the availability of the proposed company name at the Commercial Registry, and reserve the name free of charge.
Time and cost: 1 day, no charge
Deposit the start-up capital at the bank and obtain a receipt
Agency: Bank
The entrepreneurs must deposit their start-up minimum capital and provide the proof of deposit to the Commercial Court for the company registration.
Time and cost: 1 day, no charge
Register the company’s articles of association with the public notary
Agency: Public Notary
All new businesses must deposit and register the company’s articles of association with the public notary.
Time and cost: 1 day, KMF 22,500 for the authentification of the articles of association and the statement of deposit
Deposit the company’s articles of association at the Ministry of Finance
Agency: Ministry of Finance (Services des domaines)
It is necessary to deposit the company’s articles of association at Ministry of Finance.
Time and cost: 2 days, KMF 16,000 for registration + KMF 500 for stamp duty per page (for 3 copies of the articles of association, with 10 pages each)
Register the company at the Commercial Court
Agency: Commercial Court
To register a company at the Commercial Court, the following documents are required:
- The list of managers, administrators, or associates with the power to act on behalf of the company (two copies);
- The property title or lease agreement;
- Capital declaration;
- Copies of the statutes certified by FIS;
- Managers’ criminal records.
The applicants pay 10,000 KMF for the registration itself and an additional 5,000 KMF for administrative fees.
Although the requirement to publish the statutes in the Official Journal is mandated by the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa (Organisation pour l’Harmonisation du Droit des Affaires en Afrique, OHADA), this requirement is not observed because (a) the Official Journal does not function consistently; and (b) the publication fee has not been published.
Thus, the registrar has no power to charge for the publication. There are other daily and weekly journals in which a notice of company incorporation can be published. At the directors’ discretion, they may opt to publish in other daily and weekly journals.
Time and cost: 1 day. KMF 15,000
Obtain the professional license (patente) at the Tax Administration
Agency: Tax Administration
The professional license (patente) may be obtained at a fee of 10% of the annual lease value plus a fixed fee, according to the table of activities (e.g., KMF 150,000 for a general wholesale retailer), plus 10% of said percentage and fee combined as an additional tax (centime additionelle commune).
Time and cost: 8 days on average, see comments
Legalize the company books at the court
Agency: Court
All new businesses must legalize their company books at the court.
Time and cost: 7 days on average (simultaneous with previous procedure), KMF 1,000 per book
Make a company seal
Agency: Sealmaker
A company seal can be obtained at a cost of KMF 12,500, which is the cost charged by Studio Med, one of the most common private seal makers in Moroni.
Time and cost: 2 days, KMF 12,500
Register for social security
Agency: Social Security Office
All new businesses must register for social security.
Time and cost: 1 day (simultaneous with previous procedure), no charge
